J/111 Sailing Demo'sOslo, Norway & Marstrand, Sweden
(Oslo, Norway)- From May through first part of June, the J/111 will be in Marstrand, Sweden for viewing and demos by Jan Nillson's Marstrand Yachts (and J/80s will be their for test sails, too).
On June 7 & 8, the J/111 will be on display for viewing in Oslo, Norway just prior to the start of the famous Ferder Race.
If you have an interest in seeing this remarkable offshore/ one-design speedster, please be sure to contact Jan at email- jan.nilsson@marstrandyachts.com. For more J/111 sailing information
Vice Admirals Cup PreviewFirst UK J/111 One-Design Sailing Event
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club will host the eighth Vice Admiral’s Cup Regatta this coming weekend. Since its introduction the Vice Admiral Cup has gone from strength to strength with it’s simple close-racing format and fun social program making it enjoyable for the competitors. This year there will be six classes, including one-design classes for the J/109 and J/111 as well as provide the inshore element for the 2012 GBR Team trials for the Brewin Dolphin Commodores’ Cup.
This year record numbers of yachts are expected for Vice Admiral's Cup, with over 60 entries to date. The courses will be predominantly laid windward-leeward format with up to eight races scheduled over the three days of racing.
For the Commodore's Cup selection, all boats wishing to qualify will be participating in Class 0, made up of mostly forty footers of various ilk from Elan, First, King, Ker, Corby and others. Included in the mix is the well-sailed J/122 JOOPSTER skippered by Neil Kipling and two J/109s, David Aisher's YEOMAN OF WIGHT and Robert Stiles & Neil Angel's DIAMOND JEM.
In the one-design world, the five J/111s will likely find out that all five boats will learn how to sail faster every single race-- exactly as what happened with their colonial compatriots during the Annapolis NOOD regatta two weeks ago. Their learning curve will be fast and furious as teams learn to tweak them to go much faster uphill and downhill. Even steering techniques will be refined, as many drivers learned on the Chesapeake, e.g. pinching is not fast in light-medium breezes! As this is the first meeting of these teams, it's too early to tell what will happen. Nevertheless, certainly one of the most experienced teams is Cowes Week 2011 winner Duncan McDonald and crew on SHMOKIN JOE. Certainly Rolls & Christies' ICARUS, Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE, Tavoncelli's MANIC and Ivill's J-SPIRIT will all enjoy having a go at Duncan and "the JOE" team.
The usual suspects of leading J/109 teams are participating with a slew of teams all capable of rounding out the podium. In completely random order, you can expect to see all these boats get a top three finish at some point during the event, including David McGough's JUST SO, Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB, Beckhelling's RED ARROW, Richard and Valerie Griffith's OUTRAJEOUS, Dave Richard's JUMPING JELLYFISH, Steve & Jody Maine's J2EAU and Franks & Lockett's JYNNAN TONNYX. In other words, over half the fleet is competitive enough to lead around the course depending on a zillion factors-- great one-design racing with this group.
As always the Royal Corinthian will look forward to welcoming competitors après sailing to relax at its delightful clubhouse which enjoys panoramic views across the Solent. There will be a two-course steak barbeque dinner on Friday and Saturday's open for dinner on the panoramic veranda-- hard to beat the view, hoping the weather cooperates! For more Vice Admirals Cup sailing information
Seattle NOOD PreviewJ/24, J/80 and J/105 One-Designs Sailing
(Seattle, WA)- The Emerald City as it's known in the Pacific Northwest is getting ready to host its annual spring sailing extravaganza, the Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta, on the spectacular waters of Puget Sound. With enormous snow-capped mountains in the background and lush green pine forests cascading down the slopes, the setting could not be more picturesque. With a forecast of partly cloudy skies and light to moderate southerly winds, it gives hope to the "locals" who are used to sailing in one of the "wettest" metropolitan cities in the world (average 220 rain-days per year). The sailors may yet have a beautiful weekend of sailing to start off the Seattle sailing season. Even then, lousy weather, rain, fog, drizzle don't dampen the spirits of sailors in these parts, it's all just part of the laid-back, fun-loving atmosphere.
There is a strong contingent of J Sailors participating in the regatta in three one-design classes of J/24s, J/80s and J/105s. In the fourteen boat J/24 class, some familiar names that have been near the top of the leader board over time will be present. Amongst those contenders will be Scott Milne on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH, Mark Laura on TUNDRA ROSE, Richard Bustamante on HABANERO and Noel Morgan on JOSS.
In the J/80 class, it's a tougher call since most of the boats are well-sailed in a small fleet. Nevertheless, past participants like Bryan Rhoes on CRAZY IVAN, David Schutte on TAJ MAJAL and Bill McKinnon on SKYE ROCKET will be in the hunt. Perhaps they'll all have a bit of anxiety if HEART ATTACK sailed by Joel Shapiro beats them all!
The J/105s have a number of good teams returning from last year as well as some new additions. Certainly looking for podium finishes based on past performance will be Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE, Jim Geros' LAST TANGO, Doug Schenk's FREE BOWL OF SOUP and Jerry Diercks' DELIRIUM. For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information
Top Irish J/Teams Sailing Round Ireland(Wicklow, Ireland)- It only happens every other year and this June Wicklow Sailing Club is delighted to announce that it will host and organise one of Europe’s major yacht racing events. The Round Ireland Yacht Race 2012, which starts in Wicklow Harbour on 24th June, is being held for the 17th time since the biennial, non-stop, 705 mile circumnavigation of our island started in 1980. The Round Ireland Yacht Race is run under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, the largest yacht racing organization in the world. The RORC include the Round Ireland Yacht Race as one of the premier challenges in their calendar of seventeen international races this year.
Twenty five starters, to-date, have confirmed entry with anticipation high for further additions before the closing date for entries on the 8th June. Entries to the race received so far are impressive and will certainly stimulate the interests of the sailing fraternity. Approximately half of the yachts entered in the Round Ireland Yacht Race are RORC racers based in England and include entries from the RAF and the Army Sailing Clubs. Boats from Scotland, Wales and Guernsey will also join the fleet in Wicklow. All in all a formidable entry of top rated racers, even at this early date.
Theo Phelan, Race Organizer for the Round Ireland 2012 Yacht Race, said “To win the Round Ireland Yacht Race, your crew have to race consistently well, all day and all night, every day; given the challenging Irish coastline, it is not an easy course. Three thousand miles for open seas to build up before they hit you on the West coast can be daunting. I have no illusions, winning against good opposition is never easy but it makes racing the Round Ireland Yacht Race all the more rewarding.” What's the course? Just start and finish off Wicklow, leave Ireland and all its islands, excluding Rockall, to starboard, and sail for approximately 704 nautical miles. It generally takes around 4-5 days depending on weather conditions. The calibre of the yachts entering this race is a clear indication of the status in which the Round Ireland Yacht Race is held by the yachting world. And, top Irish and UK teams from the J/Clan are all participating (possibly even a few relatives of the J/Family!). Long-time successful short-handed sailor Nick Martin will be sailing his J/105 DIABLO-J. The J/109 SGRECH is being sailed by Stephen Tudor from Pwlheli Sailing Club. A fast offshore boat that might find favor with the Round Island configuration is the J/120 NUNATAK sailed by Mike Jaques from RORC. Finally, the J/133 SPIRIT OF JACANA sailed by Bruce Douglas from Carrickfergus YC will be a top contender. Given the fact that a mixture of sailing conditions will almost always be on offer from the weather Gods as you blast around what may be the world's "longest round island" race, the J/Teams should be in the hunt--- just like their J sailing colleagues who sail the Round Vancouver Island Race (another biennial event that goes 580 nm!). For more Round Ireland Race sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Other than the J/Teams that were sailing offshore across the famous North Sea/ English Channel in the Vuurschepen Race (first event for the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta), it was a very busy week for the large J/One-Design classes across the world. Starting in South Africa, the J/22 sailors recently enjoyed their J/22 South African Nationals with a near record turnout in Deneysville. The J/22s also sailed a great regatta in the Ijselmeer Sea in the Netherlands-- the Spring Cup Regatta saw a number of good German J/22 teams in attendance as well. J/22s were also getting busy out on the American West Coast, with the first of many J/22 Team Race Regattas being held at St Francis YC on San Francisco Bay. J/24 teams are warming up everywhere as well, many in Europe and Italy for the upcoming J/24 Italian Championship and the J/24 European Championship in two weeks. In America, J/24 teams showed up en masse to celebrate the famous Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Santa Barbara Sailing Club, their Cinco de Mayo Regatta had one of the largest J/24 fleets in years. In the J/80 world, the Italians just completed the well-attended Trofeo Marina Yachting in Chiavari, Italy. And a bit west of them, the J/80s sailed on the famous Queen Mary Reservoir, a remarkable place to sail under the Heathrow Airport flight path in the west end of London-- the Royal Thames YC played host to the two-boat team race event for the famous Cumberland Cup-- a nice silver trophy that's a bit older than the infamous America's Cup!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:
May 15-28- Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta- The Hague, Netherlands- http://www.nsr.nl/May 18-20- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA- http://www.sailingworld.com/nood_regatta.jsp
May 25-Jun 3- J/24 Italian/European Championships- Sardinia, Italy
May 26-28- Swiftsure Offshore Race- Victoria, BC, Canada- http://2012.swiftsure.org/
Jun 1-3- J/22 Canadians- Vancouver, BC- http://www.j24can.com/
Jun 1-4- J/24 UK Nationals- Poole, England- http://www.parkstoneyachtclub.com/
Jun 8-10- Chicago NOOD Regatta- Chicago, IL- http://www.sailingworld.com/sw_nood.jsp
Jun 9-15- J/80 Worlds- Dartmouth, England- http://www.j80worlds2012.com/
Jun 15- Newport-Bermuda Race- Newport, RI- http://www.bermudarace.com/
Jun 16-23- Kieler Woche- Kiel, Germany- http://www.kielerwoche.de/
Jun 24-30- J/24 US Nationals- Dillon, CO- http://www.dillonyachtclub.com/
Jun 26-29- J/22 Worlds- Le Crouesty, France- http://www.j22-france.com/world%202012/index.htm
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Teams Dominate Epic Vuurschepen Race(The Hague, Netherlands)- The traditional opening event for the North Sea Regatta is the Vuurschepen Race from Scheveningen, Netherlands to Harwich, England- a distance of only 110 nautical miles across the northern parts of La Manche (the English Channel).
This year's race was an epic challenge for all fifty teams sailing. The forecast was just plain ugly. Strong NW winds 20-30 knots gusting up to 50 knots in squalls, cold, wet and monstrous, breaking seas. The starts for all classes went off fine, with the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by John van de Starre and Robin Verhoef and the J/122 JUNIQUE skippered by Chris Revelman both getting solid positions on the fleet to lead them away from the waterfront of The Hague. As forecast, the winds were a steady 20-25 knots gusting higher. Amongst the starters were Global Ocean Race sailor Yvonne Beusker, skipper of the J/105 PANTHER.
After taking a beating sailing across the southern parts of the infamous North Sea, mostly renowned for producing 10-15 foot "chop" instead of long, rolling seas or swell, the various J/Teams managed to sail fast and safely to just about sweep the top 10 places overall in IRC Division. In fact, J sailors took 7 of the Top 10 in IRC Overall, plus taking 2nd and 3rd in IRC 2, 1st in IRC 3 and 1st in IRC Double-handed. Of the fifty-two boats that finished, eight boats dropped out due to crew sickness, torn sails or broken equipment!
In the largest and most competitive class in the race, IRC 2 with eleven boats, the J/Teams took 6 of the top seven places! That's quite a showing across the board, ranging from J/105s up to the J/122. Second in IRC 2 and 4th overall was the J/109 YETI sailed by Paul Van der Pol, they finished at 12:35 CEST on Wednesday. Third in class and 5th overall was the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER sailed by the Fastnet Team of John Van de Starre and Robin Verhoef, they had the honor of being the first J/Team across the line at 11:37 CEST on Wednesday. Fourth in class and sixth overall was the J/109 CAPTAIN JACK skippered by Burt Visser. Fifth class and 7th overall was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman. Sixth class and 8th overall was the J/109 ARETHUSA raced by Kees Mijs. Seventh in class and 10th overall was the J/105 PANTHER sailed by Yvonne Beusker and Edith Voskamp.In the IRC 3 Class, first in class and 9th overall was the J/105 HARPOEN sailed by Harry Rek. Finally, the winner of the IRC 2H Doublehanded division was the J/122 JUNIQUE sailed by Chris Revelman.
After the finish, the sailors will certainly enjoy their day of rest in Harwich, hosted by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club in Woolverstone. After much camaraderie and celebration over their collective successes on Ascension Day the sailors will surely be enjoying their lunch in The "Butt and Oyster" pub at Pin Mill. After a good night's sleep, the sailors will be back at it again on Friday. On Friday, they hop aboard again and go back across "La Manche" (the Channel) in the RORC North Sea Race back to Holland! We wish them all fair winds and following seas this time! For more Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta sailing and "live-tracking" information
St Francis YC Wins J/22 Team Racing Invitational(San Francisco, CA)- St. Francis Yacht Club hosted its 2nd annual Team Race Invitational this past weekend with five West Coast yacht club teams racing J/22s on the San Francisco City Front in winds ranging from 10 to 25 knots. 38 races were completed with St. Francis Yacht Club clinching victory only after battling back from the 4-5-6 positions at the last mark rounding in the final race to pass San Diego Yacht Club on the final beat. Seattle Yacht Club had the best record in the triple round robin series before falling to San Diego Yacht Club in the semi-finals.
In the end, the first place St. Francis Yacht Club skippers were Shawn Bennett, Nicole Breault and Scott Sellers. The second place San Diego Yacht Club skippers were Brian Haines, Adam Roberts and Tyler Sinks. And, the third place skippers for Seattle Yacht Club were Dalton Bergan, Mike Karas and Andrew Loe. Awesome sailing photo credits- Chris Ray. For more St Francis YC J/22 Team Racing sailing information And, more sailing photos/ sailing videos of Nicole Breault and team on St Francis YC Racing Facebook page.
New York YC Wins Cumberland Cup Team Race(London, England)- The Cumberland Cup, the international 2-on-2 team racing contest sailed in J/80s and hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, started the three-day event in windy conditions on the Queen Mary Reservoir. As the only major international keelboat event regularly hosted in the UK's capital, the Cup attracts global competition. This year, teams came from Royal Northern & Clyde YC (Glasgow, Scotland), Eastern YC (Marblehead, MA), Southern YC (New Orleans, LA), Island Royals (London, UK), Seawanhaka Corinthian YC (New York, NY), New York Yacht Club (Newport, RI/ New York, NY), Royal Perth YC (Perth, Australia) and Royal Thames YC (London, UK).
Principal Race Officer, Gillian Smith, took the decision to run a round-robin format of racing to give all teams the maximum amount of time on the water. With races lasting around ten minutes, and with speedy crew changes, the momentum was maintained throughout each day of sailing. The short, box-shaped course enabled teams to put their team-racing knowledge to good use producing exciting starts, tight mark roundings, neck and neck finishes and even a few man overboard situations. Stu Saffer, team captain of the New York YC team, commented, “The race against Royal Perth YC was particularly exciting. The vigorous pre-start, resulting in one boat being OCS and a man overboard, meant the NYYC got lucky! We are looking forward to meeting a fully-manned RPYC boat next time around!”
With racers of international experience, the standard of team racing was understandably high as Mark Lees, helm of one of the RTYC boats, said, “We’ve had our first three races, which have all been very close as the standard of team-racing is exceptionally high. We’re frustrated because we’ve only taken one win, but remain positive as we know where we’ve gone wrong, and we’re looking forward to getting some wins under our belt.”By the end of racing on Day One, 19 races, out of a round-robin of 28 races, had been completed with the New York YC leading with a 4-0 record, followed by Seawanhaka Corinthian YC (3-1) in second and Royal Northern & Clyde YC (3-2) in third.
The second day dawned warm and sunny with a gentle northerly breeze of 10 knots – ideal team-racing conditions. Having completed 19 out of 28 races on day 1, the Race Committee started racing as soon as possible, completing the first round-robin before moving on to a second, complete round-robin, the aim being to maximize the amount of racing time for all teams.
The lighter breeze enabled teams to engage in some very competitive team racing. Eastern YC's team captain Larry Ehrhardt said, “The lead changes four or five times in a race with the finishes being pretty nail biting in most instances. The light air is really giving us a chance to race aggressively, which we love”. Remember, in 2-on-2 team racing, last place loses-- a very difficult scenario to control while team racing!The Race Committee took the decision not to use spinnakers, giving teams a further opportunity to focus on team tactics. The teams were unanimous in agreeing that this really added to the team-racing element of the competition as opposed to focusing efforts on boat-handling skills. At the end of the first round-robin, NYYC and Seawanhaka YC were tied with 6 pts apiece, third was Eastern YC, fourth Southern YC and fifth Royal Northern & Clyde YC.
The third and final day was greeted with glass-like water and zephyrs of breeze – ideal conditions for allowing sailors a chance to recuperate from an enthusiastic evening program the night before. Racing continued as soon as a southerly breeze filled in and round-robin 2 was resumed. Using a box-shaped course, with starboard mark roundings and no spinnakers, enabled teams to focus on tactics and produced some aggressive – and very competitive racing.
At the end of racing on Saturday, New York YC was dominating the event with ten wins out of 11 races. However, hot on their heels was Seawanhaka Corinthian YC with eight wins out of nine races, closely followed by Eastern YC. With another 16 races to go to complete round-robin 2, the lead was very much up for grabs and racing started on Sunday with a vengeance.
New York YC continued with their run of top results and, by race #45 had only dropped one result. The Race Committee, led by Gillian Smith, stopped the second round-robin at race 45 which represented a clean break in the program with all teams having completed the majority of their races. Race 45 itself saw Seawanhaka Corinthian YC take on Eastern YC – a match that would find a finalist to go up against the team from New York.
The race took around 25 mins with frequent lead changes, luffing matches and very tactical mark roundings. The team from Seawanhaka grabbed victory on the final leg and thus earned their place in the final against New York YC. Eastern YC therefore claimed 3rd place in the Cumberland Cup.
The final was a best-of-three match between New York YC and Seawanhaka Corinthian YC with the first victory going to NYYC. It was all to come down to the next race and it proved a worthy battle. NYYC clinched another victory on the finish line and thus sealed their overall win and claimed the title of winner of The Cumberland Cup 2012.
Stu Saffer, team captain of NYYC, commented, “The race was intense. We had a hard time against the boys from Seawanhaka. They raced well and got us into some tight corners. However, we pulled the two races out of the bag in the end and are really pleased with our win”.
After three days of competitive, intense racing all the teams were keen to thank the hosts, Royal Thames YC and their race officer team and Queen Mary Sailing Club for providing a fantastic race venue. Gorgeous Sailing photo credits- Claire Matches For more J/80 Cumberland Cup sailing information
PHANTOM Smokes J/22 South African Nationals(Deneysville, South Africa)- The South African J/22 fleet continue to have good times and the near record turnout of thirty-one J/22s for their annual South African Nationals is a strong indicator of the fun-loving time their having with their boats. Host club Deneysville Aquatic Club put on a good show and managed to start twelves races for one of the more memorable championships in recent years.
While starting off a bit slow, Andrea Giovannini's team on PHANTOM lived up to their name and snuck out of the weeds in the shallows to smoke the fleet over the next ten races. Overcoming a 9-9 in the first two races Andrea and crew counted four 1sts and two 2nds in their scoreline to win with just 33 pts overall, ten pts clear of their next competitor. Behind them it was a good-ole-fashioned rugby sevens match for rest of the top five with teams running up and down the finish ladder like a roller-coaster. Surviving the scuffle and snagging second overall was Craig Millar's team on JALAPENO, getting "hot" when they had to in the last race to overcome some bungled races earlier in the series (like an 8-7-14) to get the silver. Third was Ewald Sternagel's funky balsa-finished clear hull called HAKAHANA, really losing out the opportunity to win the regatta after starting so strongly with a 2-1-2-6 to be leading after four races. Ewald's crew must've blown a gasket towards the end as their accumulated DSQ-6-8-6 in the last four races dropped them out of contention and into third place on the podium. Rounding out the top five were Richard Weiderhodlt's CELL C in fourth and Rob Wilcox's VOODOO in fifth. For more J/22 South African Nationals sailing information
Kok Wins Tough J/22 Spring Cup(Medemblik, The Netherlands)- Medemblik, a picturesque small town on the IJsselmeer Sea in The Netherlands, is considered the Mecca of Dutch sailing. It's a fun place to sail, can be very challenging, and the weather never seems to be what it's supposed to be! Sometimes gorgeous, sunny, sublime with gentle breezes, other days freezing cold, blowing dogs off chains and raining hailstones.
This year's event presented the schizophrenic nature of sailing on the Ijselmeer. After a long period of rainy weekends and winds, the weekend of the Spring Cup was forecast (almost promised!) to be a nice weekend with lots of sunshine and moderate winds. But, Saturday saw something different. It was cold on the water and there was a fair wind in the chilly rainfall. However, three races to sail, lots of action and plenty of warm drink kept the crews working hot and furiously. After the races the sun finally came out, it was time to dry out, jump into the wonderful hot tubs and relax. Then, a large group of J/22 sailors all had dinner at the Pizzeria La Grotta (a locals favorite hangout) to eat the delicious pizza pies by the pound!
The forecast for Sunday was a very gentle breeze. During the first two races there were lots of wind shifts and pressure differences on the race track. From "hero to zero" and vice versa was the rule of the day. After six races, it was clear the "local hero" with places of 1-1-1-6-2-1 was Ivo Kok with 12 points. Showing how strongly the German J/22 teams have evolved over time, much like their J/24 and J/80 one-design teams, Reinhold Grob managed to sail a very strong series to amass a 2-2-3-1-6-2 record for just 16 pts. Third was Jean-Michel Lautier sailing to a 3-5-2-2-3-5 score for 20 pts. Rounding out the top five were two other Netherlands teams, Ivo Jeaukems in fourth with 27 pts just edging out Dirkjan Verdoorn with 29 pts for fifth. For more J/22 Netherlands Spring Cup sailing information For more J/22 Germany sailing information
JOCONDA Triumphs in Marina Yachting Trophy(Chiavari, Italy)- This past weekend, the Yacht Club Chiavari played hosted to sixty five boats on the water in classes that ranged from IRC and ORC to one-designs like J/80s. In the end, the J/80s did incredibly well against all of their counterparts on the water racing for the Trofeo Marina Yachting.
Saturday had little wind forecast from Southeast. Nevertheless, the starting was aggressive and complicated by the different pressures on the field of play towards the first mark. Despite the poor start, Daniela Magistro sailing JOCONDA ended up doing well in the first race. The right side paid for JENIALE, enough to close the distance to first, but unable to overtake his opponent. The wind dropped off for the last race of the day, but with the same results for 1st and 2nd. Afterwards, there was a "great happy hour at the YCC until dinner", according to one competitor.
On Sunday were totally different weather conditions, waiting for the thermal wind to overcome the light north wind. By mid-day the wind had risen to 15-17 knots with some great racing. This time JENIALE! took first with JOCONDA second, with COCCHI, JBES and MONTPRES filling out the top five, respectively. For the second race of the day, in similar conditions, the entire fleet lined up and locked-in battle to the first mark- essentially a close reach with no gennakers. In the end, it was JOCONDA again the quickest, having a sweet burst of speed and taking a well-deserved victory. Congratulations to Daniela Magistro for a job well done! For more J/80 Italy sailing information
Ginormous Cinco de Mayo RegattaJ/24 SVENJA Squeaks By FIVE--JADED--DOGS
(Santa Barbara, CA)- Having one of their best and largest regattas in the greater SoCal region (Santa Barbara/ Los Angeles/ San Diego) in recent years, the sixteen J/24s that sailed in the Santa Barbara Sailing Club's annual Cinco de Mayo Regatta had tremendous competition-- the event had North American and Western Regional Champions in attendance.
In the end, after plenty of tasty margaritas, great tacos and even better racing, Team Zimmerman sailing the great yacht SVENJA snatched a well-deserved victory over some very tough hombres. After accumulating a 2-3-1-4-1-2-9-5, the SVENJA team amassed a total of 18 pts, to win a squeaka' over the next three incredibly well-sailed boats. The next three teams all went into the last race essentially tied on points. Amongst that trio were Pat Toole's veteran team on THREE BIG DOGS, Klatt's crew on JADED and Taylor's gang on TAKE FIVE. Taylor's team was on a tear in the last three races getting a 1-2-1, but it was not enough to get silver on the podium, instead having to settle for 4th place overall. Dueling it out for second and third were Klatt's JADED and Toole's 3 BIG DOGS. After the dust settled, the two boats ended up tied on points with 22 pts each, with the nod going to JADED for second place on the basis of having the most firsts. Fifth in this tightly bunched fleet was Whisenhunt's crew on TORTOISE. For more Santa Barbara Cinco de Mayo J/24 sailing informationJ/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* India's top J/24 women sailor and women's match racer, Ayesha Lobo, is helping grow the sport of sailing in one of the world's largest developing nations. With millions of miles of shoreline, many gorgeous harbors to sail out of and lots of "natural amphitheaters" to promote the sport on the water, Ayesha and friends are doing their best to promote sailing to a whole new generation of sailors in India. And, they're making the efforts work in the most extraordinary ways. Here's a quick report from Ayesha on her recent activities-"Congratulations on the J/70 its a beauty, I can't wait to sail it sometime soon. This is mail is long over due as I have been caught up with university and sailing. Just to give you a quick update- the link here is an article which I got them to do as a part of
developing the Adventure Sports Groups who are interested in water-based sports in India (a national promotion/ tour agency).
In our huge country, the percentage of people that know about sailing is not even one percent!! I’ve decided to explore all possible dimensions of fun on a J/Boat. We are opening up the J/Boat experience to everyone and expanding the field to more buyers.
MTV India (yes, the big music television channel) wants me to collaborative with them, so I am currently working on ideas for outdoor sports & activities that combine music, beauty and sailing!
We are taking our J/24 down to Hyderabad, where we will conduct a "Discover The J Experience" for the next few months (June to August). If this is successful I am planning to visit other centers and maybe create a few new ones. I find there is so much about the J/Boat I need to learn and I am looking forward to this very exciting experience, and I am all pumped up about it. Best regards, Ayesha"
For more Indian Women's Sailing information and more information about Ayesha's experiences.
* The Montreal J/22 Fleet is on a Roll! In the past few months, the fleet has almost doubled in size. Here's their report-"2011 was a fantastic year for the Montreal chapter with three new J /22 boats added to the fleet. And guess what, another two boats are joining for the 2012 season. These new players are not coming from HYC but from OKA Yacht Club. A total of thirteen confirmed J/22 will be jostling for position on the start line this coming season. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such enthusiasm in the area. Something must be going on, so beware all racers this is highly contagious and you might be the next victim, the only remedy is to stay far away from the fun.
Class president and 2011 Canadian champion Ron Harris and crew John Martin orchestrated an evening, with a focus on two main areas: protests & rules, and tactics specific to J/22’s in a regatta. The clinic underlined critical points of contention with topics like; do not fear the protest room - one design vs PHRF/club racing starting tactics - J/22 class rules – and a review of the ever so important mark rounding rules and tactics.
Rules were read and explained, and with the help of a magnetic board different situations found on the race course where carefully examined. It made for a great forum where everyone could join in to provide further explanation or ask clarifications about a situation they had encountered.
In the course of the night it became clear to everyone that there are times where perspectives or opinions concerning a situation can come in conflict. Throughout the clinic emphasis was put on the fact that J22 racing is a gentleman’s sport, where fair play and respect of the rules must prevail. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that a church was chosen for the reunion after all!
What every sailor needs to remember is that racing is a game, and there are proper ways to settle differences between players. Being involved in a protest does not mark one as evil. It’s a civilized way of settling differences and it’s part of the learning process; sometimes it is the only way to decide how a rule should be interpreted. It’s not like calling the cops on someone, so we shouldn’t be afraid to protests.
The J/22 teams have a goal in mind: the J/22 worlds in 2013. This event will be held in Newport, Rhode Island, so getting everyone up to speed is essential if our local teams want to fair well in this world class competition. On the water speed tests and clinics are being planned for the start of the 2012 season.
Most of the fleet will travel and attend many of the nearby events such as the Canadian Championship at CORK, to name just one great event. The Montreal fleet has planned for lot of time on the water and class members are very generous with their experience and time, wishing to bring new comers quickly to level.
If you enjoy racing and wish to improve your skills there is no better time than now for anyone thinking about joining this class!" For more Canadian J/22 sailing information
* J/120 Wednesday Night beer-can racing off Detroit on the famous lake renowned more for motorboat chop than sailing-- Lake St Claire-- has to be one of the world's more challenging places to sail because of it. The J/120 teams sure have a great time sailing out of Grosse Pointe YC and Bayview YC.Former BYC Commodore Frank Kern's CARINTHIA is a long time fleet leader in the area. Frank sent us along this YouTube video of their fleet sailing a recent beer-can race. Fun stuff. Said Frank about the J/120s in the area, "Here's a nice video of the Detroit J/120s sailing a Wednesday night race last September. Thought your J/News readers might appreciate this." Watch it here, the last part is particularly good! Check out the Detroit J/120 beer-can sailing video here.
* J/24 Sail Training Video- at Sandringham YC prior to the Victoria States J/24 Championship. As part of a coaching weekend just before the Vic States, Michah Shuwalow, from the SYC boating academy ran a session with the local J/24 fleet.As well as taking photos, Michah provided a GoPro camera that was attached to three different boats over the mornings races. It was fascinating to see the differences in the way we all sail the boats. Here’s a video that Michah put together showing PACEMAKER in the first race. The coaching footage was taken during the Sandringham YC's J/24 Sprint Series this winter. The video features musical artist Skrillex and their recent Top 40s Hit "Bangarang (featuring Sirah)." Enjoy, some interesting practices being used on J/24s nowadays that are developments of boat-handling maneuvers from the past. Check out the Australian J/24 sailing video here.
* J/80 Training Video- Over the past few months, the J/80 Santander fleet in Spain has had Santiago Fiochi conduct on-going video sessions and fleet seminars on how to sail J/80s better and faster. If you want to answer some questions about how you defend yourself better on starting lines with an aggressive J/80 fleet, here's some good instructional video. In this particular video (of the dozen or so available on Santiago's "YouTube channel"), it's the first race in the VIII Trofeo Autoridad Portuaria de Santander on Santander Bay on-board ESP 880 with Spanish champion Javier López-Vázquez helming. Winds are in the 4-12 knot range. It was recorded with GoPro Hero 2s mounted on both the boom and a mast camera. Check out the J/80 sailing video here.
* J/30 owners on Google Maps- Dave Irwin from the J/30 USA National Class Association put together a great "map" of all J/30 owners from around the USA. WHen you open this map what strikes you the most is how diverse and dispersed the J/30 owner group has become over time. Quite literally, J/30 owners are spread all over the map, from Hawaii to the Caribbean and from Mexico north to Alaska and all points in between on the old compass rose! Very cool use of geographical information systems to help bring J/30 owners together-- if not in sailing, then in traveling as everyone moves around the country visiting friends or on business! Other classes should do the same-- helps create the "virtual bar" to meet others and catch-up, trade war stories, trade ways in which to maintain the boats and keep them in great shape, too.Check out the J/30 owners sailing locations on Google Maps.
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). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA)
, then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.* 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/
