NEW J/121 Offshore Speedster Launched!
(Newport, RI) - The first J/121 named “Incognito” was launched at Stanley’s Boat Yard in Barrington, Rhode Island on Monday 8/21/17 at 9:45am. Within 15 minutes the Southern Spars carbon deck- stepped mast was installed, shrouds pinned and the next few hours the rigging systems were assembled. By late afternoon, the design and build team, several suppliers and the new owner and friends, were rewarded with a beautiful first sail on Narragansett Bay.
The J/121 took off with the very first puff once the new carbon North Sails were raised, and even with twice the normal number of crew on-board the boat responded nicely. There is a light touch on the wheel, combined with a big boat feeling of substantial stability and control. Everyone is raving about the uniquely open, secure and comfortable cockpit design on this boat. There are versatile trimming and driving positions and clear/wide paths for crossing the boat during all maneuvers. The twin wheel system with floor-mounted traveler provides open access to the back of the boat and great visibility of headsails from the helm both while sitting and standing. With 13 crew on this maiden voyage one might expect to feel a bit over crowded but that was not the case at all. The J/121 cockpit might just be the most comfortable of any 40 footer and is combined with the best layout for sail handling by just a few at the same time.
This exciting first sail and introduction to the J/121 did hint at her speed potential both upwind and down. After sailing close hauled for a few miles tacking back and forth and tweaking shroud turnbuckles, 3D jib leads and in-haulers, the team was excited to turn the corner and try out the large A2+ asymmetric spinnaker. The spinnaker filled and the boat accelerated quickly and confidently jumping above 10 knots of boatspeed with ease. Stay tuned for more news, photos and details as sea-trials continue. For more J/121 Offshore Speedster sailing information
New J/112E & J/70 @ Southampton Boat Show!(Southampton, United Kingdom)- Fashion and Lifestyle Entrepreneur, Millie Mackintosh, will headline Britain’s biggest festival of boating this year. Often found out on the water herself, Millie will be officially opening the Show on Friday 15 September at 11am, helping to kick off 10 days of incredible fun at one of the world’s premier nautical events.
Millie comments: “I’m thrilled to be opening this year’s Southampton Boat Show. I’m really looking forward to spending some time at the event, soaking up the atmosphere and exploring some of the beautiful boats that shall be on display.”
Key Yachting Ltd will be exhibiting several boats at the Southampton Boat Show from 15th September, including one model that will be making her show debut. Step aboard all of these boats on marina berths M427-433, the show runs until Sunday, September 24th.
J/112E - Grand Prix version- Show DebutThis multiple award-winning, two-cabin performance cruiser, is now available as a Grand Prix version. Fresh from her Round the Island victory, the J/112E GP features full race upgrades, including an IRC friendly keel without bulb, Axxon high modulus carbon mast with carbon spreaders, carbon boom and carbon steering wheel. She is also equipped with 3DI race sails and B&G H5000 with a Zeuss 3 plotter. This will be the first UK show for this formidable new IRC weapon, which has already won four French regattas this year.
The J/112E joins her sisterships, the J/97E and J/122E, as an exceptional upwind performer. V-shaped bow sections provide superior directional stability and reduced slamming in waves. Freeboard forward and topside flare help to keep the deck dry. A long waterline combined with a low vertical center of gravity results in a smooth, sea-kindly motion – more like that of a 40 footer. Read more about the J/112E offshore racer/cruiser here
The Infamous J/70 SportsboatThe J/70 is J/Boats’ first slipway-launchable keelboat - designed to fulfill the growing need for an easy to own, high performance one design, that is exciting to sail, stable enough sailboat for the family, and built to last. A natural evolution of its J pedigree, the J/70’s 7m of sailing length with high aspect, all carbon rig and deep lifting keel, provides spirited performance and stability that feels like a much larger boat. There are now 70 boats sailing in the UK, with an active class association and one design program. An incredible 170 boats are signed up for the Worlds in Porto Cervo this September.
Key Yachting will be running a demo sail week from Saturday 2nd to Saturday 9th September, please get in touch to arrange your trial on the J/112E or J/70. Read more about the exciting, the infamous J/70 speedster here
For more Southampton Boat Show information For a boat show or demo appointment, please contact Key Yachting UK here: Gemma Dunne at ph- +44 (0) 2380 455669 | email- info@keyyachting.com | http://www.keyyachting.com
Breskens Sailing Weekend Preview(Breskens, The Netherlands)- The forecast for the upcoming Breskens Sailing Weekend looks good, especially for the fleet of J/sailors participating in the J/111 class. All in all, it will be a nice three-day weekend. In fact, it looks a lot like a copy of last weekend.
The weekend starts with the passage of a Low pressure disturbance on Friday with solid southwesterlies, after which unstable air is fed on Saturday and the wind veers into the north. But, then on Sunday, a High pressure is pushing in and backing the winds into the southwest again.
Sailing in this year’s regatta is a range of boats from the J/92 and 97’s in IRC 3 up to the J/111’s sailing one-design. Participating in the J/111 class are Peter Huysman’s J-HAWK, Norbert Burkert’s TOP JOB, Jorg Sigg’s LALLEKONIG, Sebastien de Liederkerke’s DJINN, and Hans Zwijnenburg’s SWEENY. Two J/109s are racing in IRC 2, Andre de Kegel’s J-VENTURE and Andre Vincke’s JULIETTE. One J/105 is sailing in the IRC Two-handed class, Tom de Jonghe’s DJ. One J/80 is sailing in CR 5 class, Marc Fobert’s BAD JOKE. Then, four J’s are sailing in IRC 3 Class, including Bart Wauters’ J/92 JOLO, Richard Sparrow’s J/97 ONLY MAGIC, Rene van Quekelberghe’s J/97 JAI HO, and Dimitri Vanvyve’s J/105 JUGGERNAUT. Follow Breskens Sailing Weekend on Facebook here For more Breskens Sailing Weekend information
J/70 Verve Cup Regatta Preview(Chicago, IL)- While the Chicago YC’s Belmont Harbor station is hosting what is technically called the Verve Cup Inshore Regatta, they might as well re-label it the J/70 Verve Cup Regatta! After all, by far the largest class by an order of magnitude is the Great Lakes J/70 fleet on the starting line- eighteen boats strong from across the Midwest!
The competition promises to be excellent, with a number of Chicago’s top names in offshore and one-design classes in the hunt. Watch for some of these teams to be on the leaderboard, such as John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA, Steve Knoop’s AMERICAN FLYER, Mark & Sarah Renz’s BERTEAU GROUP, Preston Wake’s HOBGOBLIN 8, Amy Neill’s NITEMARE, Leif & Laura Sigmond’s NORBOY, Pam Rose’s ROSEBUD, Peter Wright’s TAIPAN/ SB and Richard Lehmann’s WIND CZAR! For more Verve Cup J/70 Regatta sailing information
Ted Hood Regatta Preview(Marblehead, MA)- In honor of one of Marblehead’s more famous yachting personalities and marine leaders, the Boston YC on Marblehead Harbor’s northern shore is hosting the Storm Trysail Ted Hood Regatta for J/70s and J/105s. The weekend promises good weather for Marblehead- breeze!!
The J/70 class has an incredibly competitive event, perhaps the last major J/70 event on the East Coast prior to some teams taking off to sail the AUDI J/70 World Championship in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy, and hosted by YC Costa Smeralda. Amongst the twenty teams are crews like Jud Smith’s AFRICA; Duncan Swain’s CLOWN CAR (winner of the Marblehead NOOD Corinthians division); Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS from Alamitos Bay, CA; Henry Brauer’s RASCAL (2nd in the NOOD Corinthians in Marblehead); Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Annapolis; Peter Duncan’s RELATIVE OBSCURITY from Rye, NY (winner of the last ALCATEL J/70 Italian Cup on Lake Garda, Italy); Brian Keane’s SAVASANA (winner of the 2017 Corinthian J/70 Nationals) from Beverly YC; Will Welle’s SCAMP from Newport, RI; Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas; and Tyler Doyle’s USA 245 from Boston YC.
With a round dozen boats, the J/105s will also be facing remarkably strong competition in such a modest-sized fleet. Leading the charge may be Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE, with locals like Fed deNapoli’s ALLEGRO SEMPLICITA giving them local tactical knowledge indigestion. Others in the hunt should be Mark Masur’s TWO FEATHER from Fort Worth Boat Club in Texas, Charlie Garrard’s MERLIN from Boston YC, and Steven Goldberg’s AIR EXPRESS from Beverly, MA. For more STC Ted Hood Regatta sailing information
King Harbor J/70 Regatta Preview(King Harbor, CA)- Like their colleagues in Chicago, the J/70s have completely taken over the King Harbor Regatta at the end of the summer sailing season. As part of their “SoCal J/70 Circuit”, the fleet has nice participation from across the region. The weather forecast looks typical for this time of year, cool upper 60s in the mornings followed by general heating in the Los Angeles Basin into the mid-upper 80s F. That produces a fairly reliable seabreeze along the waterfront that should produce good racing for the King Harbor YC PRO to knockout up to 4 races per day.
Looking forward to the regatta will be crews like Craig Tallman’s JAYA, Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU, Curt Johnson’s AVET 2.01, Robert Garrett’s youth crew on SLOOP JOHN B, and Jim Murrell’s HUCKLEBERRY from the host KHYC. For more Kings Harbor J/70 Regatta sailing information
Surfin Safari PreviewHow to Have a Hurrican Harvey Party??
(Corpus Christi, TX)- Every year, when it is about as hot as it can possibly get at the southernmost sailing point of Texas (e.g. next to the Mexican border), the Corpus Christi YC hosts its famous “Surfin Safari” Regatta on the famous Corpus Christi Bay.
However, the latest weather updates indicate it may be truly a “blowing dogs off chains” event as there is now a hurricane warning in the Gulf of Mexico. It indicates that “Hurricane Harvey” will hit the Texas coast with 80-125 mph winds with massive flooding everywhere! Oh dear. For sure, the regatta will get postponed.
For those of you that have not had the pleasure of sailing in Corpus, just remember one thing- it blows like hell, hot, dry. The key is just drink lots of water. While the natives of the city are used to the heat, and don’t be surprised to see people wearing long-sleeved shirts, blue jeans, and black sombreros on their heads, for any northerners it will be a study of contrasts, even for northern Texans!!
When we say it does “blow dogs off chains”, we know it can be the equivalent of, or more, of San Francisco’s famous gear-busters in July/ August. Do remember, in Corpus if it’s blowing 25-35 kts it’s 100 F “hot air”- in other words, it’s a “softer” breeze (air molecules are spaced farther apart, like your mind would be in such heat) than a 22-30 kts 55 deg on SF Bay. Nevertheless, the enormous chop will cool you off to some degree as you blast upwind and downwind. There are three J/fleets that form the backbone of the Corpus Christi regatta, the J/22s, J/24s (5th stop of their Texas Tour), and the J/105s. In the J/22 class, there are crews from Houston, Austin, Kemah, Fort Worth, and, of course, Corpus. Notably, two of the teams are women owner/ skippers- Nataleigh Perez’s FORGET ME NOT from Fort Worth Boat Club and Linda McDavitt’s BONFIRE from Austin YC.
The J/24s are counting all the races they can in their Texas circuit. Amongst the notable teams are Stu Juengst’s VANG GO, John Parker’s CHUPACABRA, Chris Holmes’ BAD MOON, Natalie Harden’s famous GIGGLES, Jim Freedman’s MISS CONDUCT and Mark Smith’s AFTER MIDNIGHT.
The J/105 trio includes Josh Richline’s VELOCE, Duncan Samo’s 5th LANDING, and John Bell’s KINDERSPEL 2- all from Corpus Christi YC. All of these J/sailors are looking forward to yet another Corpus “blow-out”!! For more Surfin Safari Regatta sailing information
SAIL First J/80 Cup Announcement!(Limassol, Cyprus)- The Sail First Club has been involved in the sailing scene in Cyprus since 2012 when they imported ten J/80 One-Design Racing boats. Since then, the J/80 fleet has become a normal sight on the waters off Paphos, Latchi and Limassol as they compete for everyone to see.
The Sail First club invites you to participate in their SAIL FIRST J/80 CUP that will take place from September 19th to 24th on the beautiful island of Cyprus!
You can join the regatta as an individual or as an entire crew of five people! Before the regatta, there is a drawing for the individual crews and also a drawing for the individual boats before going out to sail the event. After the first three days of racing, the fleet will be split into a Gold Group and a Silver Group. Twelve races are planned for each group on windward-leeward courses of about 4nm in length (double W/L). Furthermore, depending on weather conditions, a fun offshore random-leg race of 10-15nm will be held around islands, rocks and government markers.
While the sailing should be beautiful and lots of fun, the on-shore social and entertainment schedule should be enjoyable and exciting- surrounded by the sea, Cyprus is famous for its shore-side dining and simply amazing sea food! For more SAIL FIRST J/80 CUP sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The third week of August had several significant events taking place around the world. For starters, the J/70 Women’s Keelboat World Championship was hosted at Club de Vela La Pena in Valle de Bravo, Mexico for ten teams.Up north of the border, the Ida Lewis YC in Newport, RI hosted their annual Distance Race that included J/105s, J/109s, J/120s, and J/122s. This year it was a stormy affair for the 150nm race around Rhode Island Sound. Still further northeast near Halifax, Nova Scotia, the famous “largest keelboat regatta in Canada” took place! Known as Chester Race Week, it was sailed in Chester, Nova Scotia for one-design fleets of J/24s, J/70s and J/29s plus PHRF racing for J/120s, J/35s, J/105s, J/100s and others. Then across the continental USA to San Francisco, we find the J/105s and J/111s on the Bay sail the Aldo Alessio and Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta, hosted by St Francis YC.
Hopping over the Atlantic the United Kingdom, J/sailors enjoyed a challenging, stormy, and sunny Landsail Tyres J/CUP, held in Torquay, England and hosted by the Royal Torbay YC. The event also acted as the U.K. National Championship for the J/88s, J/109s, J/111s, and J/97s. On continental Europe, we find J/70 sailing leagues happening everywhere. Up in Helsinki, Finland, the Finnish Sailing League held their second act for ten teams from across the country. Then, down in Glucksburg, Germany, the 5th series event took place for 18 teams in the German Sailing League (Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga); their Grand Finale takes place in Berlin in November. Also in Scandinavia, the Norwegian Sailing League held an event in Larvik, Norway, a pretty seaside resort at the opening to one of Norway’s many large fjords.
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 pag Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Aug 19-26- AUDI Hamilton Race Week- Hamilton Island, AustraliaAug 23-27- J/111 World Championship- San Francisco, CA
Aug 25-27- Breskens Sailing Weekend- Breskens, The Netherlands
Sep 12-16- J/70 World Championship- Porto Cervo, Italy
Sep 14-17- Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 15-23- J/24 World Championship- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Sep 22-24- J/FEST San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 24- Oct 1- J/24 European Championship- Lake Balaton, Hungary
Sep 30- Oct 1- J/70 East Coast Championship- Deltaville, VA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
TEAM’MER Trounces J/70 Women’s Keelboat Worlds(Valle de Bravo, Mexico)- For the first time in event history, the revitalized 2017 International Women’s Keelboat Championship, a US Sailing Championship, was held outside the United States. Club de Vela La Peña A.C. in Valle de Bravo, Mexico hosted the 16th edition of this historic event and provided the competitors with a unique experience.
Eleven teams representing Canada, Germany, Mexico, and USA raced on a matched fleet of J/70 one-design sailboats from August 15th to 18th. In the end, the team representing the American Yacht Club (Rye, N.Y.), led by skipper Megan Ploch (Pelham, N.Y.), edged out the competition in a closely contested 6-team Championship Round. After beginning the final day in third place, their victory earned them the right to compete at the 2018 SAILING Championship League World qualifier in Europe!
The winning TEAM’MER featured American YC skipper Megan Ploch (Clearwater, FL) along with the trio of Alix Hahn (Norwalk, Conn.), Carolyn Russell (Greenwich, Conn.) and Erin Sprague (Greenwich, Conn.). Amazingly, Megan’s “trio” was also the winning crew in the 2016 International Women’s Keelboat Championship hosted by American YC.
Placing second was CHIQUITAS PERO PICOSAS, a local team representing Club de Vela La Peña, skippered by Camila Flores (Mexico City, Mexico) with teammates Casilda Flores (Mexico City, Mexico), Ana Clare Sole (Houston, Texas) and Manuela Legorreta (Mexico City, Mexico). Flores was in first place entering the Championships Round, and although they sailed well in each of the six races, they were unable to stay atop the leader board.TEAM CJ RACING- comprised of Emily Maxwell (New York, N.Y.), Elizabeth Dudley (Boston, Mass.), Avery Field (New York, N.Y.) and Katy Nastro (Huntington, N.Y.)- finished in third place.
While Megan Ploch’s crew on TEAM’MER dominated the finals- posting two bullets, two 2nds and three 3rds- no one else even came close to their consistency. The Flores sisters on CHIQUITAS PERO PICOSAS won the first two races of the Championship Round, but then they faded into the blue with a 3-5-4-2 in their final races.The racing was so tight in race six that any of four teams behind TEAM’MER could have finished second through fourth. Flores had 17 points, and Maxwell was tied at 19 with Giselle Camet (San Diego, Calif.), so it was anyone’s race to take. In the end, Maxwell just edged out Camet on the final run to secure the Bronze medal. As a result, rounding out the top five were Camet’s San Diego YC Team in 4th place and Eliane Fierro’s RACING COMADRES in 5th place. Follow the J/70 Women’s Keelboat World’s on Facebook here For more International J/70 Women’s Keelboat Championship sailing information
Stormy, Sunny J/CUP UK(Torquay, United Kingdom)- Not surprisingly, the weather forecast for this year’s Landsail Tyres J/CUP UK was “a sticky wicket” at best, as they say in the U.K. Storms, lotsa winds, then some sun!!?? Well, it is a British summer. Surprised?? It can range from hail, to Fastnet-like 70 kts “lows” (in other parts of the world your basic hurricane), to the glorious “5th” with tea and crumpets and a benign breeze of 8-12 kts from the west-southwest- your classic “shorts & shades” conditions. Well, for the J/CUP UK 2017, the modus-operandi for the event was to keep rolling with the punches from the weather Gods- clearly, Neptune was not pleased and instead served forth some outrageous sailing conditions.
Day One- Tough CompetitionThrilling close racing was in the DNA of J/crews!! With no less than four National Championships, the competition was incredibly close, for the first day. Spotting the shifts, and extra breeze, were keys to winning performances, with 15-20 knots of solid pressure coming off the land. The planing, asymmetric J’s were romping around Tor Bay having a great time! The Royal Torbay YC set two excellent WL courses, with three races completed by all classes.
For the J/88 UK National Championship, the competition was intense, the biggest winning margin was 21 seconds, with four teams within a point of pole position after three races. Paul Ward's Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat, was tied on points at the top, with David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-Dream. Reigning J/88 UK National Champion, Gavin Howe's Tigris, won the last race of the day, to claim third, tied on points with Tim Tolcher's Raging Bull.
“It was a cracking good day, great courses, great racing and a lot of fun,” commented Paul Ward. “The standard in the J/88 fleet just keeps going higher and higher. We are changing places three or four times every race. Make one mistake and you drop a place or two, get a good shift and you make it back again. Everybody is sailing really well, we have got half of a nose in front, and it is all to play for!”
The reigning J/97 UK National Champions, Andy & Annie Howe's Blackjack II, opened their defense in style, winning two races. However, Bob Baker's Jaywalker was just a point behind, having won the last race of the day. George Rock-Evans, skipper of J/97 Juno, scored three podium places to finish the first day, third in class.For the J/109 UK National Championship, three teams are tied at the top for first place, but only one of them actually won a race today. Robert Stiles' team racing Diamond Jem won the last race of the day, to secure pole position on countback from Simon Perry's Jiraffe, and David Richards' Jumping Jellyfish. Race winners in the J/109 Class included, Steve Berry's Blue Jay, and Stuart Hills' Jenesis. Mike Yates' Jago, and David McGough's Just So, also made the podium.
For the J/111 UK National Championship, Tony Mack's McFly, continued their impressive form exhibited at Cowes Week, to lead the class after three races. However, Marco Van Driel's Dutch J/111 Sweeney, showed championship winning from pushing McFly in every race. Paul Griffiths' Jagerbomb scored two podium finishes to claim third.
“We come all the way from Holland because we know we will get a great competition.” commented Marco Van Driel, owner of Sweeney. “The British J/111s are ahead of us, and we like to measure ourselves in a real competition, after a lot of effort and training back home. We did a good job today, we decided to go for it from the first start, to be keen and go for it. One thing that we really love about the J/111 Class, is that all of the other teams are so helpful, we are so happy because they make us feel incredibly welcome!!”In the IRC Class, Chaz Ivill's brand new J/112E Davanti Tyres, helmed by Marie-Claude Heys, scored three straight bullets, to take a commanding lead in the class. By comparison, Andy Roberts J/105 Jin Tonic is second and William Newton's Jelly Baby is third. In the Handicap Class, J/70 Mjölnir, helmed by Rob Larke, leads after winning two of today's races, but it was far from easy, with Ralph Mason's J/92 Jaberwock just 3 seconds in Race 2, and Richard Puddifoot's J/70 Jibba Jabba less than a minute behind in today's first race.
Day Two- Stormy and Wet!Thirty-knot squalls interspersed with beautiful sunshine and flat water, produced a testing race course for six classes. At times, the fleet disappeared upwind into the raging tempest, to return downwind, in a halo of bright sunlight. The bizarre weather tested boat handing skills, and stamina, considering the teams had now completed six races in two days.
For the J/88 UK National Championship, all guns were blazing with three different teams scoring race wins in the feisty conditions. David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-Dream won the first race of the day by 35 seconds to take the lead in the championship. Paul Ward's Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat, fought back winning Race 5, to regain the lead for the national title. The last race of the day was won by Tim Tolcher's Rajing Bull, by just 7 seconds. Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat lead the class going into the final day.
The reigning J/97 UK National Champions, Andy & Annie Howe's Blackjack II, still lead the class after winning two of today's races. However, the competition was hard on their heels. Bob Baker's Royal Lymington team, racing Jaywalker, was North Sails boat of the day, after finishing every race on the podium. Royal Torbay YC member George Rock-Evans, scored his first National Championship win, and Nick Barlow's Jeopardy II, scored two podium finishes.
“We have our mascot, Blackjack Davy, strapped to the back of the boat, and he kept us all safe today. There was a lot of breeze and plenty of water below us and falling down from the sky.” smiled Blackjack's Andy Howe. “Our boat handling kept us in it today, and kept us in front. Torquay holds a special place for us. We did our first J-Cup here and it is great to come back. It is a great place to sail. We are in a good position but we need at least one good result tomorrow, and the fleet are not far behind us, it is still all to play for.”
For the J/109 UK National Championship, there is a new leader. Steve Berry's Cardiff Bay YC team, racing Blue Jay, scored three keepers today, and now lead the championship after discard. Simon Perry's Jiraffe had a day of ups and downs but two good races means that the Royal Southern YC team retain second place, just a single point off the lead. “Laugh rhymes with Jiraffe, hence the name.” commented Simon Perry. “We race hard but we love to enjoy our sailing as well, and the J-Cup has the right balance of fun and great racing.” David McGough's Just So, scored two good results and then won the last race of the day, to climb to third, just two points off the lead. “This is definitely the most competitive racing I have done.” Declared David Gough. “This is an exceptional regatta.”For the J/111 UK National Championship, Paul Van Driel's Dutch J/111 Sweeney was in scintillating form today. The team from Breskens showed excellent boat-handling skills in the brutal conditions to win all three races and take the lead in the championship. Sjaak Haaman's Dutch team, racing Red Herring, scored well, as did Tony Mack's McFly. The British owner driver was also spotted wearing a pair of frogman's goggles, ripping fun at the wet weather!
In the IRC Class, Chaz Ivill’s J/112E Davanti Tyres, helmed by Marie-Claude Heys, has now scored a perfect six bullets, securing the class win with a day to spare. The battle for second is a very even contest between two J/105s, both from the Royal Lymington YC. Andy Roberts Jin Tonic holds the upper hand, by two points, but failed to finish the last race, William Newton's Jelly Baby is two points behind. Mike Wallis' J/122 Jamali, scored a 4-4-2 today, to challenge for the podium.
Day Three- the Finale
The last day was blessed with champagne conditions in beautiful Tor Bay. However, as we all know, when you pop a champagne cork it doesn't always all end up in the glass. A southwesterly breeze oscillated 20 degrees left and right during the day, and with tight racing in one design fleets, and closely matched handicap classes, getting the wrong side of a shift proved costly. The Royal Torbay Yacht Club produced two well-managed windward leeward courses, as the club has done for the entire event, and two races were held for all six classes.
The intensity of racing in the J/88 fleet was exemplified by the fact that the winner only won a single race out of eight starts. Every mark rounding and wind shift became important with teams swapping places on many occasions. Richard Cooper's Jongleur and Tim Tolcher's Rajing Bull, both made the podium during the regatta, and 2016 National Champion, Gavin Howe's Tigris, finished in style, winning the last race. However, two teams battled for three days to take the prize. David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-Dream, scored three bullets over three days of top class racing, but victory went to the new J/88 UK Open National Champion; Paul Ward's Eat, Sleep, J, Repeat.“Awesome racing, it was really really close. The J/88 is a fast cool boat and lots of great people race in the class, who enjoy a drink and a get together after racing.” explained Paul Ward. “We were just in front when we started the last race, and it was very quiet on board - game face on. In the pre-start J-Dream came and had a little play, and we managed to defend that, and sailed our own race. This year the same team has sailed together for the whole of Cowes Week, and the whole of this regatta, and we really won this yesterday, when the boat handling in tough conditions was spot on.”
Torquay is a special place for Annie and Andy Howe; the Blackjack II team was formed at the 2009 J-Cup, which was held in Torquay. Back then the team's best result was a third, fast-forward to 2017, and Blackjack II has retained the UK National title for the J/97 Class. Bob Walker's Jaywalker was a worthy runner up, proudly representing the Royal Lymington YC, and local hero, George Rock-Evans, representing the Royal Torbay YC, was third.
“Eight years ago we came to Torquay, and we picked up a few sailors here and there and we didn't do very well, but we started dreaming of winning,” commented Annie Howe. “It has been an amazing adventure since then, and we have been getting better and better, and our dream has come true, we have had the most amazing time racing J/Boats. It is brilliant to back in Torquay, and come full circle, it is just so emotional and fantastic to come back and win, and it means a huge amount.”
One of the most competitive J/109 Nationals for many years was played out in Torbay with ten boats scoring podium finishes during eight races. The winner came from behind, taking the championship in the very last encounter, having not won a single race. There is no finer example of the attitude - never give up.Before the last day, David Richard's Jumping Jellyfish was lying mid-fleet, but after gaining redress for a Race 6, the team moved up to fourth, and scoring a second place in Race 7, Jumping Jellyfish was leading the championship by 0.4 of a point from Simon Perry's Jiraffe. Steve Berry's Blue Jay was third. In the last race, Jumping Jellyfish held their nerve to score a fifth place, enough to win the J/109 Open UK National Championship. Blue Jay was runner up, and Jiraffe third.
“It was an amazing win, unbelievable,” commented David Richards. “It was about never giving up, we thought we had an opportunity, and we took it. I have been racing J/109s since 2004, and that was probably the hardest ever, because there was no stand out boats, and winning was all about consistency, not making rash calls and trying to be a hero. Of the top three boats, only one got a bullet. This means absolutely everything to me; I have been trying to win this competition for 12 years. We came within an ounce of winning it three years ago, and we are a team of good sailors and great friends.”
Paul van Driel's Dutch J/111 Sweeny is the new Open UK National Champion, after an impressive performance in Tor Bay. Sweeny scored five race wins out of eight, to lift the title. Tony Mack's McFly kept the championship alive with a win in Race 7, but Sweeny won the last race, to make no mistake. McFly was runner up for the championship, with Dutch team Red Herring, skippered by Sjaak Haaman in third.
“It is unbelievable to beat the top British guys in British waters,” smiled Paul van Driel. “We have trained so hard for this, and I am incredibly proud of the crew. We have really put a lot of effort into this, everybody is so dedicated, they are second to none, and that is why we have won. Our feeling was to focus on McFly, they are the fastest boat in the fleet, and we were on them from the start, and we like strong wind, and it came good for us on the second day. On the last day, McFly was on us, and we were defending, and that worked out, but we had to be careful, because the other boats were coming good as well, and we were like two dogs fighting for a bone.”
In the Handicap Class, Rob Larke helming J/70 Mjölnir, scored a fifth race win in the last race to secure the class, and Ralph Mason's J92 Jabberwock won a keen contest for runner up, from Richard Puddifoot's J/70 Jibba Jabba. Rob Larke's win was all the more amazing as he had undergone neck surgery, and was told by his doctor and his wife, that sailing was out of the question. However, Rob Larke was not going to miss the J-Cup!A total domination in the IRC Class was complete with Chaz Ivill's J/112E Davanti Tyres scoring eight straight bullets. Helmed by Marie-Claude Heys, the brand new design showed a great turn of speed at all angles of sail. The J/112E has now been unbeaten in 2017 in major regattas in France, and was also a class winner in this year's Round the Island Race. Key Yachting's Paul Heys was racing on board, as co-skipper.
Key Yachting Sales Director, Hannah Le Prevost, took to the stage to announce the winner of the Landsail Tyres J-Cup. “Paul and Marie Claude Heys have been running the J-Cup for 18 years, and supporting J/Boats in the UK, and many other places. Always going above and beyond what was asked of them. They have raced at every J-Cup and have never walked away with the trophy. The new J/112E is a new boat, they have put together a team that have not sailed together before and made it work. If any team here was to make a score line of all bullets, we would be handing them the J-Cup. Paul and Marie Claude said they were not going to have it, that it was not for them. They have always given so much of themselves to other people, so perhaps this is a good time to give them the J-Cup.”Chaz Ivill's J/112E Davanti Tyres, helmed by Marie-Claude Heys and co-skippered by Paul Heys, was declared the 2017 Landsail Tyres J-Cup winner. Three hundred guests at the Landsail Tyres J-Cup party gave the Davanti Tyres crew a standing ovation, followed by a superb set from Britain's best ten-piece soul-funk band- Joey the Lips. The party lasted well into the night, with the J-Cup family fully letting their hair down. North Sails UK video footage. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ www.photoaction.com
Follow the J/CUP on Facebook here For more J/CUP U.K. sailing information
MOSS SF Leads J/70 Norway League!(Larvik, Norway)- For the third event in the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League, there was much at stake for both Moss SF and KNS sailing clubs. Both had 1st and 2nd place overall for the series, respectively, to defend and to make sure they maintained their leads heading into the crucial finale in Moss, Norway over the September 7th to 9th weekend.
For this past weekend’s regatta, Moss SF managed to sail into a second place, thus securing their place in final event to be a contender. At this stage in the overall series, the Moss Sf team will have to sail incredibly badly in their home waters if they are to avoid taking the 2017 gold! They have a 9-point lead over Åsgårdstrand SF.
The KNS team did not have one of their better performances in the regatta series. The team sailed into a 13th place in Larvik and, thus, bring so many points into the final that it is in no way given that they fit into the finale in Moss.As for the Larvik event itself, it was Arendal SF that dominated completely by winning 8 of the 11 flights! Taking second was Åsgårdstrand SF with 13 pts and third was KNS with 17 pts. Follow the J/70 Norwegian Sailing League on Facebook here For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information
DTYC Lead German J/70 Sailing League Series!(Glucksburg, Germany)- It could not have been a more exciting weekend for the 1st and 2nd Sailing League J/70 Germany Sailing Leagues in Glücksburg. For the 2nd league, it was all or nothing; because the weekend decided which four clubs were going to be promoted to the 1st league in 2018!
The four happy climbers into the 1st league after the weekend’s sailing were Itzehoe SC, Flensburg SC, the Academic Sailing Association Warnemünde, and the Blankeneser SC.
"Our goal was not to finish any of the events worse than the fifth place. We succeeded! So, we are at the top of the table and we are very happy about participating in the 1st league," enthuses Christian Soyka, skipper of Itzehoe. Soyka’s crew included Moritz Burmester, Ole Harder and Oliver Lewin.
1st Sailing League ReportIn the first sailing league, Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee won the event in Glücksburg. The Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) and the Deutscher Touring YC (DTYC) took second and third place. Before the Grand Finale, the DTYC leads the overall season series table ahead of the NRV and the Segel-und Motorboot Club Überlingen.
The team from Bavaria still has a chance to defend their championship title from last year and there is no question it will be close, tough racing in Berlin. Just six point separate the top three teams after five events in the season series- Prien, Lindau, Kiel, Travemunde, & Glucksburg.
The Grand Finale will take place from the 1st to 3rd of November in Berlin.
Sailing League videos: NRV Sailing Team Summary Interviews
Follow German J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here For more German J/70 Sailing League information
Åländska Lead Finland J/70 Sailing League(Helsinki, Finland)- By winning eleven of their fifteen races sailed, the remarkably fast and smart crew on the Åländska Segelsällskapet 1 Team walked off with the honors at their most recent Finnish sailing league event in Helsinki.
Taking place over the August 19th and 20th weekend, the regatta PRO managed to run the full slate of fifteen races for the teams gathered from all four corners of Finland. While the Åländska team sailed head and shoulders above everyone else in the fleet, behind them it was quite a battle for the balance of the podium. Taking second was the Mariehamns Seglarforening with 31 pts and finishing in third place was Helsingors Segelklubb with 37 pts. Rounding out the top five were Turun Pursiseura Team in 4th and the Brando Seglare Team in 5th position.
As a result, after two events, the Åländska team is leading the series with a 2nd in their home waters of Aland and a 1st in Helsinki for a total of 3 pts. The biggest battle is for the rest of the top five; all separated by just 3 pts- meaning the provisional standings can shift quite dramatically each regatta. Sitting in second is Mariehamns with 8 pts, Brando is third with 9 pts, Nylandska is 4th with 10 pts, and Helsingfors is 5th with 11 pts! Follow the Finnish J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here For more Finnish J/70 Sailing League information
Biblical, Stormy Ida Lewis Distance RaceJ/105 Youth Team Dominates-- Again!
(Newport, RI)– The weather started out gloomy, then got downright nasty for the 13th edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race, which started Friday, August 18 off Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI. A forecast calling for storms to pass over the race course during the night convinced seven of the original 40 entrants to drop out prior to the start for six classes (IRC, PHRF Spinnaker A, PHRF Spinnaker B, PHRF Cruising Spinnaker, Doublehanded and Multihull). Of the remaining 33 teams, an additional ten were forced to retire due to damaged equipment or other problems incurred during multiple squalls that left memorable impressions and their calling cards of driving rain and winds gusting 40+ knots.
“It was biblical,” said Brian Cunha, who took overall honors in PHRF division and won his 11-boat PHRF Class A with a crew comprised primarily of local sailors. “It was just one cell after another, and it was raining so hard you couldn’t have your face into the wind, because it hurt so much. We were waiting for Noah’s Ark to come floating by!”The two PHRF Spinnaker classes and the IRC class sailed a 150 nautical mile course that took them to Buzzard’s Bay Tower, past Block Island to a government mark off Montauk Point, back to Buzzard’s Bay Tower and then back to Block Island before heading home. The first storm hit on the first stretch to Buzzard’s Bay Tower, making for a long, wet, yet exhilarating night of competition.
Perhaps most impressive was the performance by the American YC’s Junior Big Boat Team aboard their J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN. They persevered with three others teams in Spinnaker B to finish the race and take the top trophy for its first-place finish as well as the Arent H. Kits van Heyningen Trophy for the race’s Top Youth Challenge.“We knew the forecast wasn’t going to be easy on us but we didn’t think we’d see 50 knots,” said Constantyn van der Voort (Rye, N.Y.), who helped steer and ran things in the J/105’s cockpit. “That was a little scary, because we had three sails up… the storm jib, the #3 jib on the furler and the mainsail.” His crewmate Nick Hein (Westport, Conn.), who was on bow, said that the team of eight is preparing for the next Newport to Bermuda Race. “This was the most open ocean sailing we’ve ever done as a team,” he said.
In the PHRF A division, Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE took the silver. Then, in the IRC Big Boat division, Jack Gregg’s J/122 TARAHUMARA took 5th place. Finally, in PHRF B class, Bill Kneller’s crew toughed it out as well sailing their J/109 VENTO SOLARE to 4th.Photo is of Maddie Ploch, one of two members that were so successful in last year’s Newport to Bermuda race. She’s driving the Young American J/105 off the start of Friday’s Ida Lewis Distance Race. Sailing photo credits- Stephen Cloutier. For more Ida Lewis Distance Race sailing information
Ida Lewis DR photos and videos on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/ILYCDistanceRace/videos/10155678309289591/
https://www.facebook.com/ILYCDistanceRace/
Blustery Chester Race Week!(Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)- Rain, cold and expected gusts of 30-plus knots per hour held back some Chester Race Week fleets, but others headed out on the water to finish their races on the fourth and final day of the regatta. The event provided four days of racing on August 16 to 19 in the picturesque and historic seaside Village of Chester, Nova Scotia.
In addition, the event is famous for its onshore entertainment, food and parties. For starters, four great food trucks were on the grounds for all four days giving all lots of options for tasty eats, drinks, and hot coffee. Then, the entertainment schedule was full all four days; the “Hopping Penguins” opened and closed the event on Wednesday and Saturday! Then the group “Party Boots” will be on Thursday and on Friday and, in addition, they had one of Atlantic Canada’s finest party bands “Asia & NuGruv!” Sounds exhausting!
The weather had some spectacular days and some ugly ones. The fleets included one-design racing for J/70s, J/24s, and J/29s as well as offshore PHRF fleets. Winning the J/70s was Graeme Carr’s JOYRIDIN’ with, literally, all 1sts in 12 races! Lying second was Kim Gibson’s SEE’YA and third was Peggy Bethune’s POINT EIGHT. In the J/24s, it was Chris Veinot’s HYPEWAVE that won with all 1sts and 2nds. Second was Jon Reid’s BARELY LEGAL and third place went to Caroline Muselet’s CODFATHER.
The large 8-boat J/29 fleet saw Scott Covey’s RUMBLEFISH take the title with three wins in six races. Second was Jane Fibee’s PAINKILLER, winning the last race and amassing 15 pts in six races. Third was Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT with 17 pts.
In the world of PHRF handicap racing, winning PHRF 1 was Stu McCrea’s J/120 DEVIATION. In fact, there were four J/120s sailing in the class. Ron Stewart’s J/120 SLICE took 5th place. In PHRF 2 class, three J/35s dominated the top five. Winning was Andrew Childs’ HELOC with Thane McDonald’s J-HAWK in 2nd and Rod Johnstone & Gary Bennett’s J’AI TU in 5th. Winning PHRF 3 class was Terry McKenna’s J/100 DOG PARTY, followed by Colin Mann’s J/92 POOHSTICKS; rounding out the top five were Richard Gerstenberger’s J/105 AXIS in 4th and James Mosher’s J/105 MOJO in 5th place. Finally, in PHRF 4 class was yet another J/crew winning- Jesleine Baker’s J/30 JUST ADD WATER. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes. For more Chester Race Week sailing information
J/Crews Enjoy Whale-watching in San Francisco!(San Francisco, CA)- On a day that started grey and not particularly windy, the St Francis YC hosted their annual Aldo Alessio & Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regattas for boats LOA >35' or holding an ORR-fully measured certificate.
Friday's races involved heading out the Golden Gate to marks out in the ocean. As if on cue, some of the Pacific's more majestic creatures joined in as the attached pix will attest. Humpbacks, Dolphins and Seals
were all in attendance and a good time was had by all. Then, on Saturday and Sunday, the fleet continued sailing in J/105 and J/111 classes in the Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta.In Friday’s racing, Chris Kim’s J/105 VUJA STAR took third in the PHRF ToT Division. Meanwhile, the J/111’s cleaned up in the ORR ToT Division, with Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY winning and Reuben Rocci’s SWIFT NESS taking 2nd, Gorkem Ozcelebi’s DOUBLE DIGIT placed 5th.
Over the two-day weekend, Ryan Simmons’ crew on BLACKHAWK won two races and closed with two 2nds to seal the deal in the J/105 class with just 9 pts in five races. Second was the duo of Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault on ARBITRAGE, winning the last race but not enough to reel in BLACKHAWK, finishing with 13 pts. Rounding out the podium was Doug Bailey’s AKULA, closing with two 3rds to finish third place with 18 pts.
In the J/111s, the fleet was gearing up for this week’s J/111 World Championship. Winning with three bullets and two 2nds was Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY. Just one point back with the flip-flop of the KEY’s record was Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY- two bullets and three 2nds! Taking the bronze was Nesrin Basoz’s SWIFT NESS with 20 pts total.In the weekend ORR ToT Division, Jack Clapper’s J/44 continued racing and was sitting in 3rd place, but unfortunately, had to score a DNF in their last race and dropped to 4th place. Sailing Photo credits- Chris Ray For more Swiftsure & Aldo Alessio sailing information
J/Community
What J/sailors and friends are doing around the world
* The J/24 Districts took place on Lake Erie two weekends ago. We got a quick report from Brett Langolf, crewing for his J/24 friends while not sailing his famous light-air flyer- the J/34 IOR KNEE DEEP! Said Brett,“Our J/24 fleet came out strong- young and old alike- for the 2017 District 12 championships at Sandusky Sailing Club in Sandusky, Ohio.
We had a great mix of sailors across many generations, and that brought very tough competition to Sandusky Bay. BOOYAH! US 3689 came out on top to win the regatta without winning a single race!! Our team consisted of owners Louie Palmer and Bill Semans, along with John Stauffer and me as crew (Brett Langolf). We had a blast on the old J/24!!”
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
|
