Rolex Womens Preview
Shootout at the Women's OK Corral!(Rochester, NY)- Talk about some fire-power. Two Rolex Women's Sailors of the Year, two Women College Sailors of the Year, Women's Match Race World Champions, four Women Olympians and multiple College Women All-Americans? This year’s edition of the Rolex IWKC features 36 teams representing 16 U.S. states and three foreign countries (Canada, Great Britain and The Netherlands). This biennial regatta, marking its 14th edition in 26 years, will offer these top sailors the opportunity to experience high-level competition along with social activities designed to promote camaraderie. The Rolex Gala, on Thursday, September 1, will conclude the event with the presentation of US SAILING’s Bengt Julin Trophy and a Rolex timepiece to the winning boat’s skipper.
Many world-renown sailors are returning to the event this year, including the top three teams from 2009. The defending champion team is back for another shot at the title. They compete full-time as “Team Maclaren” for a 2012 Olympic berth in Women’s Match Racing as members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Team Maclaren includes Olympic Gold medalist and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.), Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.).
After a break from the 2009 competition, three-time champion and Olympian Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) returns with her US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics crew Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) along with Annie Lush (Bournemouth, U.K.) and Jacqueline Campbell (Washington, D.C.).
They’ll face stiff competition from 2009 second-place finisher and top hometown team of Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.), Amy Moran (Pittsford, N.Y.), Annemarie Cook (Rochester, N.Y.) and Jane Mastrandrea (Webster, N.Y.); and from third-place finisher, Olympian and past champion Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.) returns with Margaret Podlich (Severna Park, Md.), Kim Couranz (Annapolis, Md.) and new addition Karina Vogen Shelton (Watsonville, Calif.).
A number of promising young newcomers have entered to compete in this talented and diverse fleet. Skipper Allie Blecher (Fullerton, Calif.) is a four-time ICSA All-American and the 2010 Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year. Blecher’s team includes, Alyssa Aitken (Sandwich, Mass.), Molly Robinson (Sausalito, Calif.) and Sarah Somes (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.). All four have sailed, or are still sailing, for College of Charleston. Blecher and Aitken won the 2010 ICSA National Women’s Championship.
In her three years at Boston College, Anne Haeger (Lake Forest, Ill.) has been named an ICSA All-American each year and was crowned the Quantum Female College Sailor of the Year for 2011. She is currently helming a 470 campaign for the 2012 Olympics and a member of the US Sailing Development Team. Haeger’s crew includes, Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.), Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) and Darby Smith (Marblehead, Mass.). Roble, also a three-time ICSA All-American at Old Dominion University (class of 2011) and is currently driving a match race campaign for the 2012 Olympics. Shea, a two-time ICSA All-American at Connecticut College, is currently trimming main for a match race campaign for the 2012 Olympics, while Darby, an outstanding crew from the University of South Florida, is currently doing bow for the same match race campaign.
Skipper Kristen Lane’s (Tiburon, Calif.) team features several standout crew members, including current US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), who is campaigning in women’s match racing for the 2012 Olympics. Also joining the team are Molly Carapiet (Belvedere, Calif.) and Jennifer Morgan-Glass (Seattle, Wash.).
Not only will all four corners of the U.S. be represented with teams coming from northern Massachusetts down to the tip of Florida and out west from Washington state to southern California, but also Canada with four teams and The Netherlands with the return of the sixth-place finishers from the 2009 Rolex IWKC. The Netherlands team has been sailing together for the past five years and skipper Marike Poulie (Amsterdam), first sailed the Rolex IWKC in 1995 in Newport, R.I. Since then she has sailed many J/22 events with Bregje Lodewikus (Haarlem), Renske Verbeek (Amsterdam) and Leontien Benders (Hilversum). For more Rolex Women's Worlds sailing information
J/109 Europeans- Starring Ben Ainslie!(Dartmouth, England)- The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta is based around a programme of rowing and sailing events, but also incorporates a busy programme of activities including air displays, fireworks, a large fair, and many other smaller events that happen in and around the town centre. With nearly 100,000 people visiting Dartmouth during the Regatta period it makes Dartmouth Regatta one of the largest public events in the South West, and the second largest Regatta after Cowes Week.
With racing scheduled to take place from the 24-28 August over a mixture of windward/leeward, round the cans and a passage race to test both the boat handling skills and endurance of the crews. Dartmouth is ideally placed to attract J/109s from around the UK and Ireland in addition to the Channel Islands and France. The J/109 is the largest one-design yacht racing fleet in the UK and Ireland with 30-40 boats regularly racing at Cowes Week, the J/109 UK National Championships and the Irish National Championships in addition to strong international one-design fleets. Coupled with the active social programme, this is the ideal venue for the J/109 Euro Championship.
Competitors at the 2011 Euro Championship include former National Champion Velvet Elvis (Adam & Helen Wright) who are fresh from their success at Cowes Week, twice National Champions and former Euro Champion J-Dream (David & Kirsty Apthorp) and the current Euro Champion BlueJay (Greg Burgess) who are keen to defend their title. There are a couple of new boats to the fleet including Jason Romer from the Channel Islands who has chartered Levante and Kevin Taylor & Chris Copeland in JukeBox, but on Friday all eyes will be on the J/109 chartered by JP Morgan as they will have Ben Ainslie CBE onboard. Ben Ainslie is Britain's most successful Olympic sailor; in total he has won three gold medals and one silver. Ben's sailing achievements are unprecedented not only is he a triple Olympic gold medallist, he is also a nine times World champion, eight times European Champion and three times ISAF world sailor of the year. Ben has raced on another J Boat, the J/105 at the Allianz Cup in San Francisco back in 2006 when he had his first win on the match racing tour. He is currently the 2010 ISAF World Match Racing Champion. Even if the sun does not shine on Dartmouth this Bank Holiday Weekend the competition will be hot! More J/109 Europeans sailing information More Ben Ainslie sailing team information
Lovin' J/111s @ Fall BoatshowsJump on the Bandwagon and Have Some Fun!
(Newport, RI)- For the past few months J/111s have demonstrated time and again that a great all-around design can succeed in a wide variety of weather conditions worldwide. Plus, it's just as easy to sail as a couple double-handed or with a full crew! Beer-can racing with a J/24 sized crew is, in fact, quite easy and a lot of fun! Whether sailing off Sydney Heads, Australia, dueling off the coasts of France and England, flying down the coast of California and Baja, Mexico, enjoying the sparkling waters off Key West, or winning in the challenging racing on the Great Lakes or the Northeast, J/111s have brought lots of smiles and silverware to their lucky owners.
Even if you're just thinking about J/111s, take a trip down to one of these boatshows in the near future to see J/111s up-close and personal. You'll begin to understand why current J/111 owners simply love their boats- friends and family for daysails and beer-can racing, with standing headroom and a bathroom (!), but can go offshore with the "big boys" and make them pay! Check them out at:
Sep 14-19- Grand Pavois Boatshow (J/111, J/108)- La Rochelle, France
Sep 15-18- Newport Boatshow (J/111, J/109, J/95)- Newport, RI
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England
Oct 6-10- Annapolis Sailboat Show (J/111, J/108)- Annapolis, MD
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The end of August brings to an end the major summer sailing events in the northern hemisphere and, in some cases, also marks the beginning of the hurricane season on America's eastern seaboard. While the rest of the world watches, a massive storm called "Irene" is headed north from the Carribean, over the Bahamas and looks to become a large headache for those who live in the New England region (pictured below off Florida- just a Cat 3 blowing 135 knots). Meanwhile, a number of regattas and events went off without a hitch in both the
Americas and Europe. The Fastnet Race is now over and is fraught with all kinds of sea stories of the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" vernacular. The J/105s had their UK Nationals in that gorgeous body of water off Darmouth, England. Across the pond, up in Nova Scotia, the J/24s had their North American Championship, a closefly fought series to the end. The 35 foot J's of various vintages had some excellent racing on Lake Michigan, one weekend had the J/111s, J/105s and J/35s racing in Harbor Springs, Michigan in the Ugotta Regatta. Then, the following weekend had the J/111s, J/109s and J/105s racing in Chicago, Illinois in the Verve Cup Regatta-- one of the largest race weekends on the Great Lakes.Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below 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:
Aug 26-28- J/80 Breskens Regatta- Breskens, Netherlands- http://www.breskenssailing.nlAug 26-28- J/80 Pornic Cup- Pornic, France- http://www.cnpornic.com/
Aug 27-28- Verve Cup Regatta- Chicago, IL- http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/
Aug 29- Sep 1- Rolex Women's Keelboat Championship- Rochester, NY- http://riwkc.ussailing.org/
Sep 8-11- Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA- http://www.stfyc.com/
Sep 14-19- Grand Pavois Boatshow (J/111, J/108)- La Rochelle, France- http://www.grand-pavois.com/
Sep 15-18- Newport Boatshow (J/111, J/109, J/95)- Newport, RI- http://www.newportboatshow.com/
Sep 16-18- J/30 North Americans- Annapolis, MD- http://www.j30.us/na2011/
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England
Sep 24-25- J/Fest San Diego- San Diego, CA- http://www.sdyc.org/
Sep 28-Oct 2- J/80 North Americans- Larchmont, NY- http://j80.org/j80usa.php
Oct 6-10- Annapolis Sailboat Show (J/111, J/108)- Annapolis, MD- http://www.usboat.com/us-sailboat-show/home
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/122 NUTMEG IV Wins Fastnet Race IRC 2AJ/111 J-XCENTRIC 3rd IRC Doublehanders
(Cowes, IOW, England)- This year's Rolex Fastnet Race provided the sailors plenty of drama but mostly of the anxiety-inducing kind associated with watching enormous leads evaporate into thin-air while sitting at anchor, in no wind, and watching the night horizon behind you growing into an armada or red and green lights descending upon you like locusts!
As we said earlier, for those who love the 608 nm traverse offshore of southwestern England and southern Ireland, the 2011 race delivered on all counts. It proved a hugely tactical race and competitors fought for speed in a whole variety of conditions from 30 knots of breeze through to what was a complete shut-down in the pressure. Extraordinarily frightening for some, gut wrenchingly frustrating for others, incredibly rewarding for those who got it right.
The J/122 NUTMEG IV, owned and raced by Francois Lognone and his crew were the top J overall in the Fastnet 2011. As a seasoned offshore campaigner, it's a well deserved and hard fought result for the French skipper and crew of this forty footer. Their 8th IRC overall translates to 3rd in IRC 2 Division and 1st in IRC 2A Class! Another J/122, Neil Kipling’s JOOPSTER finished 16th place in IRC Overall and 5th in IRC 2A. By virtue of this strong showing in the Fastnet Race, Neill's JOOPSTER now leads the RORC Season Points Championship in IRC 2!
Yves Grosjeans’s bright red forty-three foot J/133 JIVARO was just a few steps behind in 20th place overall and 5th IRC 1B. Another J/133, Angus Bates' ASSARAIN IV was 27th IRC Overall and 9th in IRC 1B.
The J/111s sailed fast, but the real issue for them has been whether or not they went fast in the wrong direction too quickly. For the IRC Doublehanded class, the J/111 team on J-XCENTRIC, the Dutch team of John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef finishing first boat-for-boat on elapsed and finished 3rd in class. At the time they anchored just 200 meters from the finish line in an adverse current and no wind, the J/111 J-XCENTRIC had been winning its class for 99% of the race!! This was their first Rolex Fastnet Race and Van de Starre said he was impressed: "This is a great challenge of tactics, handling and everything. There is so much in it - I had a really good experience. Racing double-handed is about management - everything has to work well, you need a good autopilot, all the preparation in advance should be perfect, and we had it very well organised." Read more about Robin's and John's epic story below in the J/community section. Second boat to cross in the Doublehanded Class happened to be the J/120 NUNATAK sailed by Mike Jaques and crew. NUNATAK ultimately finished 12th on corrected. Perhaps the biggest story of the Doublehanded Class, other than the near-certain win by J-XCENTRIC was the remarkable come-back and amazing sailing by the family team on the J/97 JIKA-JIKA, a great offshore bonding experience (we're sure) for both Mike and Jamie Holmes! JIKA-JIKA sailed to a hard-earned 5th in class against some long-time veteran offshore teams. Some of their "Tweets" were amusing on the RORC website. Just behind this group were some of those veteran J/105 campaigners, with Niki Curwen and Alex Adams finishing 16th on their J/105 VOADOR. Just behind them in 17th was Nick Martin's DIABLO-J, currently 4th in the RORC Offshore Season Points Championship in the Doublehanded Class (VOADOR is now up to 5th).
For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information
Bubbly For JELLY BABY @ J/105 UK Nationals(Yarmouth, England)- The 2011 J/105 UK National Championship took place as part of the Taittinger Royal Solent Yacht Club Regatta in Yarmouth over the weekend of the 20th and 21st of August. Five races were scheduled for the weekend with games due to commence on Saturday morning, and a wise J/105 fleet, cognicsent of the rather generous champagne sponsor, decended on the Royal Solent Yacht Club on Friday night, for some serious race preparations and, of course, the Taittinger Reception.
The first three races of the Championship were sailed on Saturday in a very light and extraordinarily shifty breeze from 4 to 12 knots. The Committee Boat was anchored off Lymington and was delighted to welcome an extra J/105 to the fleet just 30 minutes ahead of the first warning signal: James Heald’s Flawless J raced from the Fastnet finish (double-handed division of course) straight to the startline of the National Championship! Races 1 and 3 belonged to William Newton’s Jelly Baby, a team from Lymington so racing here in her ‘home’ waters. Another local helm, Malcolm Thorpe of Yarmouth racing King Louie won the second race of the day. The chat at the Class Dinner on Saturday night was all about the benefit of local knowledge and the fastest way to cure a Champagne hangover!
Professor Roger Williams racing Jos of Hamble clearly kept himself and his family crew ‘nice’ on Saturday night and stole the first bullet of the day on Sunday morning in Race 4. Professor Williams has been racing J Boats for many years and clever tactics coupled with good crew work keep him out at the front of the fleet. Race 5 was won by James Heald, fresh from the Fastnet.
So five races, four different winners and some really close and exciting racing, meaning that just one point separated the first four boats in the fleet as the J/105 UK National Championship drew to a close on Sunday afternoon! After several re-counts, copious checking of discards, count-backs and of the final points scores, William Newton’s team on Jelly Baby emerged as the new J/105 UK National Champions. Jos of Hamble was second and King Louie was third. All in all, a great regatta, in a beautiful venue and with a superbly generous sponsor: Team Jelly Baby were presented with a magnum of Taittinger Champagne to accompany the J/105 UK National Championship Trophy. For more J/105 Taittinger UK Nationals sailing information
Odenbach Grabs J/24 NA Title(Halifax, Nova Scotia)- As everyone hoped for, the weather cooperated to give this year's J/24 North American Championships some gorgeous sailing in a simply spectacular sailing venue. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron pulled out all the stops and ensured the forty-plus J/24 teams in attendance had an absolutely fabulous time both on and off the water. With masterful race management by RNSYS's RC/ PRO teams, the races went off well, keeping the aggressive J/24 teams in check (most of the time!) and providing all the sailors a great regatta.
At the end of the day, the early race leaders had a tough time hanging on to their top spots. Like the proverbial Phoenix arising from the ashes, sailing a strong second half of the series was Travis Odenbach, sailing his J/24 WATERLINE SYSTEMS to a total of 30 points, narrowly beating out current J/24 champion John Mollicone on 11TH HOUR RACING who finished with 31 points. And, just behind them applying enormous amounts of pressure on the two leading crews was none other than current J/24 World Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz sailing his famously named BRUSCHETTA to 36 points (who in turn beat Will Welles's CAROLINA GIRL team on tie-breaker)-- the outcome really did come down to the last race!
Here are the reports from the three days of racing.
Day One- The first day of racing is over at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and I’ m proud to say that I can pick a winner when I see one. The only non-North American in the event, the Brazilian crew of Bruschetta has led the way with a perfect sheet of three wins in three races.From my perspective, handling the string pulling responsibilities on Airborne, I have had glimpses of Bruschetta in every race. She is fast but, much more important, her crew know how to handle her. Airborne, which has been renamed Stix and Stones for the regatta and to protect her resale value, is in 19th and Bruschetta has crossed behind us a couple of times. It doesn’t last long though because the Brazilians know where to tack as well as how to. Each smooth turn launches them into clear air at top speed. A couple of those and they are soon out on their own with Tim Healy and a couple of others snapping at their heels.
Tim Healy is giving a healthy chase. He recorded a couple of seconds in the first two races and added a third in the last race of the day. Also in the running are Will Welles from South Carolina (I saw a palmetto on her stern and I happen to know the state tree of South Carolina) and Tony Parker from Annapolis both of whom had steady top five finishes. Ted Bartlewski of Toronto is the top Canadian in sixth.
Exposure to all these come from aways is revealing to the locals. We have several current and past Canadian Champions registered from Atlantic Canada but the competition is tough. The top local boat is Sticky Fingers helmed by current Canadian Champ, Johnny Whynacht of Lunenburg, who is holding down seventh place. Lisa Ross in Stewie Slamn’it in 29 Seconds or Slam for short rounded the windward mark with the lead in the second race and posted creditable finishes all three times out to put herself and regatta Chair Dale Robertson in ninth.
As we learned at the Canadians last year, one day of dominance is no guarantee but a three-way tie for first, like we had last year, is looking pretty remote. The Brazilians and their brand new boat looked awesome today and it will take quite an effort from Tim Healy or one of the other contenders to reel them in.
The weather today was excellent. The sun shone as predicted and the wind rose to a steady 15 kts from the southwest, also as forecast. Solid for fast sailing but a fair test for everyone involved. Predictions for tomorrow and Saturday are similar, promising good conditions for Bruschetta to continue to shine and others to make whatever challenge they can mount.
Day 2- The second day of the J24 North Americans on Halifax Harbour taught a couple of good lessons. One is that no one is invincible, another is that you can only be lucky for so long.For many this morning dawned a bit too early. Plenty went to Durty Nelly’s last night and quite a few, whether they were in the pub or not, seemed to be surprised to find that the schedule called for racing to begin at 10:30 am as opposed to the 11:30 am start used on the first day. Having cruised downtown on Dale Robertson’s massive Isle of Cumbrae with the crews of Durty Nelly and Slam, I should have been among the worst but I was the first among the crew of Stix and Stones to come to the realization (my wife Lorna pointed it out). Several phone calls and a bunch of hustling got us all together a bit after 9:30 and with several projects leftover from last night, we were the last to pull out from the dock right behind Durty Nelly herself.
As good race committees do, Jay Hooper’s crew were out past McNab’s Island well ahead and did not waste any time getting down to things. The wind was lightish from the southwest and the five-minute sequence started within minutes of 10:30 leaving us a solid minute away when the start gun went. Only the even more unfortunate Spar Wars was behind us. With clarity of purpose that inevitably comes when most of your options are eliminated, we set out to the righthand side of the course and banged the corner for all we were worth. For once, a good decision, as we were soon crossing boats and then reaching the windward mark within sight — for heavens sakes – of Bruschetta, who had gone left and, for once, were not in first. Our skipper, Erik Koppernaes, who is a sailing contrarian if ever there was one, then came up with the brilliant stroke of eschewing the gybe sets taken by the top end of the fleet and continuing to the left from the offset mark. Several sharp sailors behind us in the jumbled fleet such as Tony Parker in Bangor Packet and Craig Noakes in Ian Dawson’s Lightning McQueen followed so I figured it must make some sense and lo and behold it did. When we gybed we were up with the leaders in what appeared to be significantly better pressure. For a while I thought we might actually get through the leeward gate in first but I was happy enough when we rounded in sixth, ahead of Bruschetta.
We dropped as low as twelfth from there but pulled off another downwind coup to finish up seventh, while Bruschetta fell to eleventh. I took a couple of pictures of her finishing behind us for posterity. Our next two races were more in character, a 20th, which is our average finish, and a 25th brought on by a broken genoa tack shackle, that amply reflects the state of readiness that you can get a J24 into if you start preparations during lunch hour the day before the regatta and the point at which our luck ran out.
Enough, in any case, about my experiences, which don’t figure significantly in the actual story of the regatta. What our day on Stix and Stones does illustrate, however, is that today was a day for nearly every dog. It was light and shifty in the first race, light to medium and persistently backing in the second race, and all over the damn place in a rising breeze for the third and final race.
Just like last year’s Canadians here in Halifax, the first day leaders in Bruschetta came to earth, with three finishes that would leave us delirious on Stix and Stones, but were not enough to keep them in the lead. The new front runner is the World Champion I forgot, Tim Healy of Newport, Rhode Island. Tim’s 11th Hour Racing recorded two threes followed by a bullet to move four points up on the Brazilians with one drop race. Also having a good day was Travis Odenbach in Waterline Systems, who won the first race of the day and then knocked down a five and a six.
On the whole, the fleet bunched up considerably. Like Stix and Stones many local boats punched into the top ten for a race or two. The outstanding performer of the day was the Squadron’s own Ted Murphy, who is weighed down by several aging friends of mine including his Uncle Mat, who is the club’s Commodore. Ted racked up a 10, 2, 10 record and moved into tenth overall. Another notable performance was by Thomas Barbeau in Navtech.ca, who was the first to the huge port tack lift the settled the day’s second race halfway up the first leg. Thomas and crew horizoned the fleet, recording the first and only victory by a Canadian in the regatta so far. The top Canadian overall though is still Lunenburg’s Johnny Whynacht, who nabbed a third in the last race to move up to sixth from seventh, one place ahead of Navtech.ca.
With boats yoyoing up and down the standings all day and even top boats recording finishes in the teens and twenties, an exciting final day is shaping up. The forecast indicates the weather will continue to be warm and predominantly sunny, although there is a 30 per cent chance of rain and the potential for thunder storms late in the afternoon. Wind is supposed to be strong but dying in the afternoon according to the ever reliable Environment Canada Marine forecast. Seems like a lot of possibilities.
Day 3- The final day of the North American Championship again brought shifty light winds that tested the ability of all sailors to be consistent. It was probably even tougher than Friday, as a matter of fact. Once again new boats made appearances at the head of the fleet and the sailors who dominated previously struggled to figure out what was going on.
The strongest performer of the day was Travis Odenbach in Waterline Systems, who won the first race playing what appeared to me from my position on the sideline as one of two boats that didn’t make the first race start to be a strong lefthand shift as the wind moved from the west to the south. He was followed by Chris Jankowski in Street Legal and Will Welles in Carolina Girl.
The second race was a bit more complex as good shifts were identifiable to both the left and the right. I can`t provide too many details on this one because the Stix and Stones crew actually sailed and after rounding the windward mark roughly mid-fleet managed to pull up our spinnaker on the inside of our genoa, which gave us a very good look at the bottom end of the fleet a very distant view of the front. I did, however, see the Craig Noakes & Ian Dawson partnership in Lightning McQueen round the windward mark in first after, I believe, working the right. I also know Ted Bartlewski and crew in Drivers Wanted followed at that point in one of the first mark roundings at which two Canadian boats held the top two spots. They apparently held on through the balance of the race followed by Will Welles, who nabbed his second third of the day.
I can give a lot more detail on the final race of the day and the regatta. As I’ve mentioned, my skipper, Erik Koppernaes is a dyed in the wool contrarian. For the third race the bulk of the fleet (i.e., about 25 of 30) lit out for the left side no doubt considering the forecast that the wind would back. We, on the other hand, started by the Committee boat and quickly tacked with a small apology onto our friend Greg Blunden with whom we set out to the west with a couple of other stragglers. As it turned out, Erik was onto something as we watched the boats to the east fade and stall, as we picked up with Greg tucked below us. After Greg tacked to starboard, we waited a bit and tacked ourselves, skipping along just below the starboard tack layline with the entire fleet framed in our genoa window.
We rounded the windward mark in first with Greg on our tail and a good lead over the rest of the fleet. Our boat however is slow. Its a cottage boat that should be sold to a good family on Grand Lake so they can race it against the Tanzer 22s up there (it is minimum weight and it has good sails but the bottom needs serious work to avoid being put out to pasture - Ed.). Our crew work also isn`t that smooth. It didn`t take Greg long to catch us after he executed a good gybe set at the offset. We were happy enough to settle for second through the gate in any case. In character, we went left after heading upwind while Greg again went right. We needed to clear our air but Erik also thought it was swinging east and his calculation didn`t appear to be wrong. There was good wind all the way, although Greg`s boat, Adrenaline Rush, did pull away on the right. As I mentioned, our boat is slow and we didn`t consider it to be any shame to lose one place upwind to Travis Odenbach.
The three of us held on downwind but wouldn`t you know the last race each day has five legs. The boat in fourth place as we headed upwind to the right was Will Welles who already had two threes on the day and appeared to have a strong interest in getting another. He worked us up the righthand side of the last windward leg as Adrenaline Rush sailed conservatively and very well to stay between Waterline Systems and the finish line. Greg ultimately finished with a comfortable lead over Travis Odenbach but Will Wells was more than we could handle, beating us with a lovely roll tack to the finish for his third consecutive third on the third day.
From the bigger and admittedly more relevant perspective of the overall regatta results, Odenbach’s pass on us to get into second was critical. The leader going into the last race was John Mollicone, who I have been identifying for two days as Tim Healy for the simple reason that Mr. Healy was the name on the registration form. Whether Mr. Mollicone or Mr. Healy is the current World Champion, I’m not clear, but their boat 11th Hour Racing is damned fast and they held a good lead going into the last day thanks to consistent sailing over the first two days as they managed to be in the top three in all six races.
Day three was, however, a bit rougher as they led off with a twelfth. A sixth in the final race, however, appeared to put them in the driver’s seat as they went into the last race needing only a ninth to retain the lead over Odenbach, who was the only boat within range of them. Unfortunately, as so often seems to happen, what had to happen was exactly what transpired. The 11th Hour team finished in eleventh with Carter While in AL and Chris Jankowski in Street Legal respectively occupying the ninth and tenth places that Mollicone needed to overtake Odenbach. I have no idea how close they all were but Ì’m guessing there wasn’t a lot of distance between them.
The results were that first day leaders Mauricio Santa Cruz in Bruschetta held on for third through a tie breaker over Will Welles. The top Canadian was Ted Bartlewski in Drivers Wanted, who took fifth. Top Atlantic Canadian was Johnny Whynacht, who brought the crew of Sticky Fingers home in seventh.
For more J/24 North Americans sailing information
Ugotta Love 111-105-35 O.D. SailingKASHMIR, CREATIVE DESTRUCTION, FALCON Class Winners
(Harbor Springs, MI)- Sailing teams from across America head to Harbor Springs each July for a summer tradition: the Little Traverse Yacht Club "Ugotta Regatta". Hosted by the LTYC, the Regatta brings together some of the best sailboat racing in the country on Little Traverse Bay and takes place the weekend following the second of the Mackinac Races (Port Huron to Mackinac or Chicago to Mackinac).
This year’s 2011 Regatta, sponsored by Credit Suisse, began with one design racing on Friday followed a "Tour of the Bay" course on Saturday and windward-leeward racing on Sunday. The weekend’s festivities kick off bright and early Friday morning with a fun tradition: a long line of happy people beginning at sun-up outside Irish Boat Shop to purchase the 2011 Regatta t-shirt. Each year, the shirt design changes and with a limited number produced, the lines begin early so that the shirts can be had.
Enjoying the fun and festivities were Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson and Mike Mayer on the J/111 KASHMIR, showing the J/111 fleet how to get around the track (or in some cases, get out of trouble), finishing the event with a consistent scoreline of 1-1-2-2-1-3 for 10 pts. Local favorite and sailing hero, Dave Irish took aboard as much local talent as possible on NO SURPRISE and simply couldn't muster up enough fire-power to overcome KASHMIR's ability to sail fast and smart. NO SURPRISE finished the series with a 4-2-1-1-2-2 for just 12 pts. Third was Paul Stahlberg's fun-loving team on the fast red boat MENTAL! The MENTAL team sailed consistently and snuck in a first in the last race to finish with a tally of 2-4-3-4-3-1 for 17 pts.
Over in the J/105 fleet, local sailors took home the bacon with Carter Williams' CREATIVE DESTRUCTION winning in convincing fashion with a 3-1-4-1-1-2 record for 12 pts. Second was Clarence Holman on EXIT STRATEGY with 14 pts. In nearly a three-way tie for third was Bill Petzold on GREEN FLASH, Mark Symonds on PTERODACTYL and Richard Lehman on WIND CZAR. Based upon how these three teams had been sailing all weekend, it was anyone's guess what the outcome would be after the last race. By getting a 3rd, Bill's flashy team won the tie-breaker over Mark's raptors with their 5th and coming up short was Richard's czars with a 4th.
Like their 35 foot sisterships, the J/35s had a fun, close series. While the leader, Ed Bayer's FALCON walked off with three 1sts, the battle for 2nd to 4th was close. It was Bruce Metcalf's BOZO'S CIRCUS that managed to squeak by with a 4-2-2 to finish second by a half point over Larry Taunt's BAD DOG.
In handicap world, a fleet of J's sailed well to take places in three of the divisions. In PHRF E class, Mike Graham's J/109 MERENGUE finished 5th after three races and Mitch Padnos' gorgeous J/124 SUFFICIENT REASON finished 6th. In PHRF H class, the J/95 STILL CRAZY sailed by Justin Palm was 2nd and the J/100 JUST MESSIN sailed by Adam Esselman was 5th. In PHRF I Class (jib & main only), the J/42 JAYWALKER sailed by Bill and Judy Stellin continue to sail fast after criss-crossing the Atlantic Ocean, pulling off 4th in their class. For more Ugotta Regatta sailing results
KASHMIR Eclipses J/111s Verve CupJ/35 AFTERSHOCK Shocks ORR 3, J's Sweep Level 132s
(Chicago, IL)- As one of the only major offshore regattas held in America during the month of August, Chicago YC's Verve Cup has developed as a world-class event, attracting over 3,000 national and international sailors on 240+ boats. The fleet was greeted by three days of challenging weather, typical for Lake Michigan at this time ofyear.
Making the most of it was the team of Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson and Mike Mayer on the J/111 KASHMIR, sailing to a 1-2-2-1-3-1 to win the J/111 class with 10 pts. Dave Irish's NO SURPRISE gave them a strong run for roses, but came up short, managing to get a 2-1-3-2-4-2 for a cumulative score of 14 pts. The competition for the last podium finish was tight, with Paul Stahlberg's bright red MENTAL getting the edge with a 6-3-1-5-2-4 scoreline for 21 pts, just beating out Ed Dabrowski's NIGHTHAWK for fourth with a 5-4-4-3-1-5 tally for 22 pts. Fifth was Tom and Carol McIntosh's MISTY with 28 pts.
The J/109s had solid racing, too, with David Gustman on NORTHSTAR winning with five 1sts and one 3rd for a total of just 8 pts! That's both a spanking and a "schooling" of their colleagues, fellow competitors are still trying to determine where the newfound speed and tactical brilliance arose since the SW NOOD Regatta! Second was Lenny Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE 2 hanging tough, but not tough enough, to get five 2nds and one 3rd for 14 pts overall. The SW NOOD regatta winner, Kevin Saedi's MOMENTOUS sailed a nice series and hung on for third with a 3-1-2-3-4-3 record for 16 pts.As the biggest one-design class at the regatta, the J/105s always have strong, spirited competition and this year's event featured several new faces near the top of the pack. Winner this year was Clark Pellett on SEALARK with a 3-1-1-2-3-2 record for 12 pts. Second was Dorin Candea's MESSY JESSY with 19 pts and third was class newcomer on the newly "resurrected" red boat called CRASH TEST DUMMIES, sailed by Richie and Lori Stearns.
In the ORR 3 handicap, the J/35s simply blitzkrieged their handicap class, finishing 1-2. The winner was Bill Newman's J/35 AFTERSHOCK, winning with six straight firsts for 6 total pts! Second was Bruce Metcalf's J/35 BOZO'S CIRCUS with 19 pts. Over in the PHRF Level 132 class, three J's swept the division. Led by the J/27 TRUE NORTH skippered by Dan Arntzen, Dan's team also managed the perfect scoreline like their J/35 big brothers, getting six 1st for 6 pts. Second was the J/30 AWESOME sailed by Team Chi Nola and third was yet another J/30 PLANXTY sailed by the couple team of Kate and Dennis Bartley.
The CYC PRO's did a great job getting the regatta off in the crazy weather that swept the fleet over the three days. On Friday, they managed to get in three races. The race committee postponed the start for nearly an hour waiting for the wind to build. The wind was east to east southeast most of the day, building slightly from three to five, to seven to nine knots. On the second day, things were a bit more challenging, with changing winds, rain and thunderstorms leading to a significant postponement, with two circles completing one race each and Circle C completing no races. On the final day of racing the weather cooperated as did the sailors. It was a gorgeous day of racing and by the end the fleet was sailing home under full sun and half moon - what a beautiful day to be on the water. Circle C managed to pull off 3 perfect races. The wind was strong in the morning from the Northeast for the first and second race (a classic scenario after the large fronts on Saturday), shifting persistently to the right all day. The day's racing started on the course at 330 degrees and ended the last race at 035 degrees. For more Verve Cup sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/22 sailor from Annapolis, Sue Mikulski, a long time veteran competitor and key contributor to the Rolex Women's reflects on how this special event has impacted her life. Over the years, she has made it a personal goal of hers to grow competitive women’s sailing and the Championship has played a major role in achieving this.Sue was the Outreach Coordinator for the Road to Rolex Clinics and Next Step to Rolex from 2000 to 2005. Road to Rolex clinics are designed to prepare competitors for the Rolex IWKC. Junior women sailors interested in gaining international sailing experience participate in the Next Step to Rolex Program.
“I spent many hours and many evenings contacting women sailors from around the world explaining theses Rolex programs, how it draws women into racing at all levels and that it is the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Sue. “The Road to Rolex clinics helped promote women's sailing, and especially those getting ready to do their first international event.”
Sue is ecstatic about the progress these programs have made on the evolution of the Rolex IWKC and maintaining it as a first class event with talent and diversity.
“It is extremely rewarding to see names of juniors from the Next Step Program now competing in the upcoming RIWKC. I smile when I see those names,” she said.
Sue trained for two years leading up to her first Rolex IWKC in 1995. She joined the Liberty Sailing Club in Philadelphia, Pa. and the Philadelphia Laser Fleet in the early 1990s and sailed close to 200 races a year from 1993 to 1995.
“I felt it important to give back to the sport of sailing, after so many helped me get involved, and that US SAILING helped me get my start in conjunction with Rolex. I had a great team who helped me pull it together,” she said. Sue went on to skipper at the Rolex IWKC at Annapolis in 2001, 2003 and 2005.
She is excited to return to competition this year after missing the 2009 and 2007 events. For the past five years Sue has battling the effects of Chondromalacia. She has no cartilage behind her knee caps and two torn meniscus in each knee. During this time she became very involved with Race Committee at Annapolis Yacht Club, which she loves to be part of. After hours of therapy, she is ready to make a return.
The Rolex IWKC is a unique event with a camaraderie unlike any event I've ever done. Sailing with your girlfriends is fun, intense and such a learning experience about yourself. Racing, owning and skippering my boat helped my confidence, helped my leadership ability and ability to be a team player.”
US SAILING’s 2011 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC), hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club (N.Y.), takes place on August 29 - September 1. For team rosters, results, video, photos, Facebook/Twitter updates and daily racing reports, please visit the event website at http://riwkc.ussailing.org.
* J/111 Doublehanded- Robin and John report on the Rolex Fastnet Race 2-Handed with the J/111 J-XcentricRobin: After Cowes Week went very well for us, we had only one day (Saturday) to change our boat into a “double-handed” racer to be ready for our Fastnet Race effort. Luckily, our J/Team Benelux helped us with that conversion process and by the end of the day Saturday we were ready!
It was really remarkable to watch how the mood in Cowes Yacht Haven completely turned into “ serious business” during Saturday. Everywhere you could feel the tension with skippers and crew members for the coming race. The hectic, festive mood of Cowes Week was completely gone and was transformed into a state of high tension, with static electricity crackling in the air. After our safety check Saturday evening, we were ready to race with our J/111!
The first night of sleep on board is always hard. In the morning of the start, John found just one last little detail that needed to be done-- cleaning the bottom of the boat! With large sponge and goggles he jumped overboard to get the job done! We immediately nick-named him “Sponge-bob John”!
With a fully clean bottom, we head directly to the start of the race, at 12.10 with 70 boats in the IRC2 -- all skippers and crews were full of adrenaline and couldn’t wait to get going-- we knew it was going to be one big mess, so we felt to get out of the Solent in the best way was to keep ourselves apart. Rules did not seem to exist anymore, every man (boat) for itself-- fortunately we knew that there were 600+ miles to sail, so time to forget and just blast away!
The weather forecast was 10 kts S-SW increasing 20 kts and turning SW, so it was a beat to windward out of the Solent with increasing winds predicted. Our setting, a #2 MH jib and first reef in the main ready to go. The reef in the main was soon necessary as we tacked along with the full ebb tide pushing us upwind out of the Needles Channel in the direction of St Alban’s Head. At this point, we took the full benefit of the running tide and we continued our way in the direction of Portland Bill (we wanted to stay nearshore because of the turning tide there).
In retrospect, the start was a very spectacular one because of all the big boats started last, it was a magnificent view to see all those big boats passing ( VO70’s, RAN, ICAP Leopard, Rambler 100 and so on) go flying down the course.
Our tactics that we had outlined with currents and wind shifts worked out very well and the predicted SW-W windshift came as well so we entered into a long upwind leg to Lands-End. This is where our biggest setback occurred. After a long day using the NKE autopilot and computer system, we had to charge the batteries. Starting the engine however was not the problem, but after 6 min. a temperature alarm was generated and we had to stop the engine….. what to do? After consideration, the conclusion was made that either the internal water pump or the engine’s thermostat may not be OK!
Meanwhile, we immediately switched over into energy saving mode. We started steering by hand with as few electronics switched on as possible. With a weather forecast for the Irish Sea WNW – 12 kts turning NW 25 – 28 kts during the night, things did not look that good for awhile. I disassembled – and re-assembled the water pump as well as the engine’s thermostat, but nothing was found defective, the problem remained. The watch regime for two guys was 3 hrs on deck – and 3 hours rest and we stuck strictly to this scheme, and so we entered into the night. With a genoa #3 and a reefed main we screamed and surfed down towards the Irish coast for hours with speeds reaching over 17 kts-- all hand-steering all night long!
The predicted northern wind shift came, but just for a short period and so we ended up westerly of Kinsale in light weather conditions, 22 miles from the famous Fastnet Rock. Here is where we thought that we had screwed up our race! We had to tack those miles to the rock, and the boats that had stuck to the rhumb-line would have had the benefit, or at least so we thought.
But as we got closer to Fastnet, we saw more and more boats from the Irish sea tacking towards the Irish coast, and soon we saw on the AIS system that even our class competitors where behind us! At the Rock we heard that we were the first for line honours in our Doublehanded class…. You don’t know what a boost that gave us!
John: The Rolex Fastnet race is a tactical game with fortunately many possibilities in terms of current and wind to win or lose. So, in a situation where you feel that you are hopelessly lost, there is always a possibility to fight back forward. This happened approaching Fastnet Rock, after the predicted NW windshift that did not come we felt we ‘d lost the game. Suddenly, we saw on the AIS system the J/122 Geronimo 2 at a speed of 8 kts SOG! Cracking along the coastline of the Ireland, while at sea we could not do more than 4.5 kts. We decided to take the same route, and where you would expect less wind and tidal current, the opposite occurred! There was a tidal stream catapulting the boat in the direction of Fastnet and we took the benefit of that current. At least we caught another 5 boats again!The rounding of Fastnet Rock was quite spectacular with he helicopter above us, the spectator boat following us, in a beautiful sunset atmosphere… a very special moment! At the rounding, we hoisted the kite ( 1st time in the race ) and we reached away to the Pantenius Buoy.
The engine problem was finally solved in the end by taking the coolant reservoir apart and temporary mounted it above of the engine, we could use our NKE autopilot again!
After Fastnet with the kite up our J/111 was finally able to show her strongest side, but sadly enough the wind shifted NE and after 30 miles we had to take the kite down and ended up with a long close reach towards the Isles of Scillies where we had to round the Bishop Rock. Here we could take advantage of some tidal current and again we were able to gain a few boats out of our IRC class 2.
From Scillies to Lizard point we sailed on shifts and current and our tactics for the last part of the race were determined primarily by tides.
The tidal current changed exactly at the moment that we approached the Lizard and it provided the highest benefit immediately straight along the rocky shoreline. With a light NE wind and a 55 mile upwind beat to Plymouth--- this was going to be a tough journey forward!
Navigating with B&G Expedition on my computer at the chart table, I instruct Robin to tack and tack and I specify how far he may proceed, bravely going up to the 5 meter depth line near shore. I hear Robin mumbling, “are you sure we can go that far inshore? I can feel the spray of the back-bouncing waves from the shore already. Can you please have a look outside to see how close we are to these @#$% rocks?!” All in all, it was a huge gain for us to use these tactics-- we gained a lot of boats and suddenly I see the other fully crewed J/111 Arabella on my AIS system, a new target was born!
As we followed the coastline to Plymouth we faced numerous rain showers with many wind shifts that we were able to take advantage of-- we got to within 100 meters of Arabella! Subsequently, on our AIS screen we can see boats struggle against the tide in Plymouth Sound with a very low speeds to get to the finish line. We decide to stick close to the coast in shallow water to minimise reverse current and slide into Plymouth Bay. This works out perfectly down to the bay of Plymouth, where the wind simply kept dying out very slowly and deliberately! At this point just short of the finish line (only a “stones throw” away), Arabella slides only 50 meters in front of us to cross the finish line as we go slower and slower and-- then start to go backwards!! We can almost touch the line, but are just not able to finish!! The pain, the agony!! No $%&*#% words could describe our feelings!! So, so, so close we could taste the champagne! But, the wind
totally dropped and we had to anchor! Here we lost over 1.5 hour before we found a little puff of wind to finish!
Sick of this 1.5 hour lost of time and realising that perhaps our first place on handicap is lost because of this, we sail into the harbour also aware that we have gained a whole bunch of boats last night that have still not finished. We also realise we have won line honours in one of the world’s toughest races- the Fastnet Race, in the toughest class-- the Doublehanded Class. OK, well, this is just totally cool – and there is still a chance for a top 3 ranking-- maybe even a podium finish! Our fate lies in the hands of the weather Gods and we simply have to wait. We feel we have given just everything!
This year’s Rolex Fastnet Race was a super race with everything in it-- a super fast and reliable boat ( thanks J-Boats!); super teamwork; 0 – 28 kts of wind, unfortunately for us only 30 miles on gennaker; cool tactical sailing, sometimes many boats catching up; solving (technical) problems; but also a very enjoyable good times with many porpoises around the boat etc. Many ups and downs, but coming out better than we could’ve expected, with finally a 1st place on line honours, 3rd place in our 2H class, as well as a 22nd place IRC2 over-all!
In our opinion, we could not have done better given the circumstances we have had given the weather systems. On the one hand a pity, on the other hand a third place in this field is just a fantastic performance.
Very satisfied and in two years time we will be back!
Thanks to our J/Team Benelux that supported us with the boat and equipment and the perfect teamwork!
See you soon,
Robin Verhoef & John van der Stare
The J Cruising Community
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).
- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).
- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Check out there recent travels- now past Fiji!
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)
, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/
Featured Boats
Spectacular J/42 "Stars & Stripes" For SaleThis J/42 has a great layout with two double sleeping cabins, two heads with showers. Main cabin has very large working galley. Exceptionally well-organized and equipped Navigation station with new Icom SSB, and new Icom VHT, older Garmin GPS/Chartplotter, Stereo CD with Bose speakers both below decks and waterproof speakers in cockpit.
There are two deluxe settee berths in the main cabin plus a centerline dining table. Good storage in cubbies and bookshelves. Classic interior finish with white laminate bulkheads and solid varnished teak trim. Very bright and airy. New cushions including custom-made Temper-pedic memory foam mattresses in the two sleeping cabins.
New B&G Electronics, B&G Quadrant mounted Autopilot. New Raymarine C-80 big screen color GPS/Chartplotter/Radar mounted at steering pedestal, New Dodger w/ side bar handrails, New Furlex Roller furling system. New Engine driven Sea Frost refrigeration. All new electrical & battery power system, over 350 Amps of storage capacity. Engine start battery, plus 3 house batteries. Microwave oven can be run off inverter at sea. Force 10 Propane stove and oven.
This J/42 is equipped to sail offshore. She has a 1 year old Liferaft. The boat is loaded with all the electronic equipment needed and most all of it is not more than a year old. The North sail inventory (6 sails) is excellent for cruising, and includes storm sails and a Gennaker w/ snuffer. The mast is Carbon Fiber by Hall Spars and has a Tides Marine sail track for ease of raising the North mainsail.
There is a stainless steel bow roller and anchor mount and a Lewmar Electric windlass. The working anchor is a 45 lb plow.
The hull is white (good color for the tropics)(NOTE- red boat is picture of sistership!). The current owner sailed her to the BVI's from Massachusetts in November of 2008 where it spent the winter. It has just recently arrived home, averaging 160-200 miles per day on the delivery. This is a fast, solid cruiser, loaded to go off cruising. she has been well loved and cared for and has tons of upgraded, new (2007 to 2008) equipment.
For more information, please call George Lowden or Rich Hill at cell# +1-617-678-8164 or email-hilllowden@comcast.net
About J/Boats
Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).
Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere! For more information on J/Boats.
Read Kimball Livingston's SAIL update on the J/Boats story- A Band of Brothers
