New England Boat Show!The boat show is located at Boston’s enormous waterfront Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and will be featuring the J/88. The show runs from February 14th to 22nd.
Make sure to keep your loved ones in mind for Valentine’s Day! What better gift from the heart than a J/88 or J/70 wrapped in a giant red bow with roses!
Ask J/Boat Dealers Rich Hill or George Lowden how you can make that happen, contact them at ph# 781-631-3313 or email- hilllowden@aol.com. For more New England Boat Show information.
J/88s Planing Assault on Chicago-Mac Race!(Chicago, Illinois)- Rich Stearns, from Stearns Boating in Chicago, is inviting all J/88 sailors to join them for the 107th running of the Chicago to Mackinac Island race, starting on July 11th. Then, afterwards do a short cruise to the spectacular North Channel/ Georgian Bay (simply imagine cruising “Downeast” Maine, but in crystal clear Caribbean-blue fresh water!) and/or sail in the equally fabulous Harbor Springs Regatta on Little Traverse Bay from July 24th to 28th.
There are six J-88’s in Lake Michigan that are doing the race, plus three out-of-towners joining them. A total of nine boats so far! Why not “take a crack at the Mac” yourself!? With a J/88 on a trailer, it simply cannot get any easier.
Tow or get your J/88 delivered to Chicago. Launch if for FREE at Chicago YC’s 5-ton hoist, using a single-point lift. Plus, they have a tall “gin pole” right there at CYC that can hoist your incredibly light carbon rig with your kids! Once the boat is in the water, Stearns Boating and CYC are offering awesomely cheap rates to dock the boats until the start of the Mac. Your trailer gets taken care of and delivered (or towed) dirt cheap to Mackinac City, right next to the Mackinac Bridge! Shepler’s Marina will pull the boat for $200 USD! Heck, that’s cheaper than doing your kids Opti regattas!
Or, if you’re doing the Mac Race and staying for Harbor Springs, Stearns Boating can help organize your trailer delivery to Irish Boat Shop (another J/Dealer) and have it pulled at their marina by Mike Esposito (a famous J/World rock-star!).
In order to help your decisions regarding logistics and the all-important “fun-factor”, Rich and his wife Lori wrote a fantastic guide for any sailor, but in particular, J/88 sailors.
The first guide is called “The Perfect Boat- or why everyone should own a J/88” (download the PDF here- http://www.jboats.com/images/stories/pdf/J88_PerfectBoat.pdf). He’s not kidding!The second document is called “J/88 Chicago-Mac Invite and Cruising Guide” (download the PDF here- http://www.jboats.com/images/stories/pdf/J88_ChicagoMac.pdf). This latter document is so good, ANY sailor doing the Chicago-Mac Race should download it because it’s a race, cruise and logistics guide all in one!
For more information on this super-fun program, please be sure to contact Rich Stearns at Stearns Boating- email- rick@stearnsboating.com or ph# 847-404-2209 or Chief J/88 Cheerleader Paul Murphy- ph# 443/600-7400 or email- Paul@PaulMurphyAnnapolis.com
J/70 Primo Cup Preview(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- Tripling the fleet size in twelve months!? Impossible! Yet, that is exactly what has happened at Yacht Club de Monaco’s famous Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse that will take place this coming weekend from February 6th to 8th.
The J/70s have gained enormous popularity in the Principality of Monaco because the J/70 really is easy-to-handle, fun-to-sail, and brings an enormous “cheshire-cat-eating” grin to everyone’s face as they fly off the rolling seas that often run off Hercules Bay in front of the famous Monagesque waterfront.
Last year, the twelve boat J/70 fleet encountered very challenging sailing conditions. Sunday was a spectacular day of sailing with WNW winds of 15-25 kts with clear skies and enormous waves! The J/70s had wild, exhilarating rides whistling across the magnificent Monagesque shoreline (like this fabulous Carlo Borlenghi “flying J/70” photo here).
“It’s great to come across and race against America’s Cup helmsmen who got us dreaming in the first place,” commented a young sailor from the YC Monaco, Edward Albert-Davie. It’s true that since it was launched in 1985 on the initiative of YC Monaco President Prince Albert II (sailing his J/24), the Primo Cup has hosted many of the great names, be they Olympic or offshore sailors, who come to Monaco to kick-start the Mediterranean summer circuit alongside highly skilled amateurs.
As the largest fleet in this year’s Primo Cup, the J/70’s have 37 teams from across Europe representing seven countries (Monaco, France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Spain & Russia). Introduced last year in the Principality of Monaco, the J/70 has won over many YC Monaco members- seventeen local teams are sailing this year!
Will Frenchman Ludovic Sénéchal, sailing LULU LA NANTAISE, continue his streak and repeat his win in 2014? Or, will top Monegasque sailor Jacopo Carrain, skippering CARPE DIEM, triumph in the end? They will be up against a formidable new crop of sailors who are rapidly becoming familiar with the J/70 in a wide variety of conditions, whether they’re German, Italian, Russian, British, or Spanish.
Other than last year’s top two players, Frenchman Senechal or Monagesque Carrain, they will be facing a formidable German contingent that are accustomed to tight, “college-style” short course racing, including recent Monaco Winter Series winner LED ZEPPELIN and Klaas Lehman’s BLANKER HANS. Adding in top UK teams like Ian Wilson’s JOYRIDE and Simon Cavey’s JUST4PLAY, and a strong local contingent of YC Monaco one-design champions like Ian Isley’s ST ANDREWS Team, you have a remarkably even playground for all protagonists involved in this Shakespearean drama. Sailing Photo Credit- YC Monaco/ Carlo Borlenghi. For more J/70 Primo Cup sailing information.
Quantum J/70 Winter Series III Preview(Tampa, Florida)- This weekend marks the third and final “act” of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series, hosted by Davis Island YC and sailed on beautiful Tampa Bay. Will luck run out on Marty Kullman’s NEW WAVE, the winner of the first two regattas? Or, will they sail lights-out again and hammer home another convincing performance? One thing is for sure, the competition in the last event has considerably heated up post-Key West.
Perhaps it is the crazy cold weather, multiple blizzards and “cottage fever” afflicting sailors in the Northern parts of America that has suddenly created a mass migration south? Who knows? But, with 51 boats registered, many top teams will now be in the hunt for the “pickle dishes” given out to the top five boats! Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. The weather forecast certainly looks promising, with 10-15 kts Northeast on Friday, veering East 6-10 kts Saturday, and veering further Southeast on Sunday at 5-9 kts.
Chasing Kullman’s NEW WAVE will be a hornet’s nest of good teams that have done well in Key West and the previous Quantum J/70 Winter Series events in December and January. Leading that charge may be Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT from Wayzata YC in Minnesota, as well as others like Allen Terhune on DAZZLER from Annapolis, MD; Rob Britts on HOT MESS from the local Davis Island YC; Cole Allsopp on MOXIE from Annapolis, MD; Will Welles on RASCAL from Newport, RI; Henry Brauer on SCAMP from Marblehead, MA; Dave Franzel on SPRING from Boston Sailing Center; Patrick Wilson on STAMPEDER from Charleston, SC; and Kris Werner on SUPERFECTA from Rochester, NY.
There are many new faces in the crowd that will certainly be a factor in the top ten, but it’s difficult to know how they will fair against these experienced class veterans. Perhaps Holly Graf’s brand new SPICE from Eastport YC will become “Super Spice Girl” and smoke the fleet!? Time will tell. For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series sailing information
The 25th Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta(Melbourne, Australia)- For all women sailors north, south, east and west, you may want to consider hop-scotching your way Down Under to an amazing event celebrating their Silver Anniversary! The Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron in Melbourne is hosting the 25th Australia Women’s Keelboat Regatta from June 6th to 8th, 2015 and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever! With teams coming from across Australia and from around the world, the fleet is already shaping up to be a competitive one.
The “Hyper Girls” (centre in the pic above) have taken this J/24 out more than once before, proving their boat is very competitive in this fleet. So, if you are a local at Sandy why not get your boats up the bay? Looks like there may also be a crew from Manhattan, New York coming! Which means if you are from Sydney or Adelaide, you really are coming from just around the corner. Boats may be available to use from the Sandy fleet, too!
If you are a woman sailor and would like to get involved, or if you are a boat owner who would like to donate your boat to a team, please contact RMYS Sailing Coordinator- Allicia Rae – awkr@rmys.com.au For more Australia Women’s Keelboat Regatta sailing information
Want to go sailing with girls before AWKR? Well then, you should definitely try the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series! The YV Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series (PPWCS) 2015 marks the third series which combines the existing “signature” women’s events from the five keelboat clubs at the top of the bay into one event and will be contested on the waters of Port Phillip from February to May 2015.
Check out the Port Phillip Women’s Championship details here.
Finally, why not sail the opening race of the PPWC and enjoy the party for the Jennifer Goldsmith Trophy!? This is the traditional “Lady Skippers Race” and has been a feature on the sailing calendar at Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron for many years. This is the first race in the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series and, as always, there are going to be some gorgeous prizes thanks to the Goldsmith Family.
Traditionally the race is open to any yacht as long as it is “skippered” by a woman. She can have a crew of all men, a mixed crew or a crew of all women, but the boat must be helmed throughout the whole of the race by a woman. Entry for the 2015 Jennifer Goldsmith Perpetual Trophy is now open. You can read the NOR and enter here. For more Australian J/24 Fleet sailing information.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The advent of a “leap year” February with the first day starting on Sunday, means that all 28 days neatly fit into four weeks exactly. Who knew? Perhaps that symmetry may provide some sailors “lucky karma” in the upcoming weekends as somehow the world seems better balanced? Well, the Weather Gods sure aren’t listening! While our friends Down Under continue to bask in plenty of sunshine and brisk winds, the weather in the north continues to contend with a “freak show” known as “the polar vortex”. Between “gales” that are clearly as powerful as hurricanes and snow blizzards in the continental USA that are as common as kangaroos in the Arctic Circle, it’s not surprising attendance is rising rapidly at regattas in warmer, sunnier places like SoCal, Florida and the Caribbean!Speaking of nice warm, fun climates to be in, check out the story of the J/111 sailing in the Festival of Sails in Geelong, Australia. What an amazing event! Kind of a cross between Kieler Woche and the Caribbean, but mixed in with a crowd of fun-loving Aussies hell-bent-for-leather in a race to see who had the best time! No worries about this crowd, it all ends well.
In the same “fun-loving” category, what’s not to like about sailing J/24s and J/105s at the Grenada Sailing Festival off their capital city of St Georges. It’s a similar “festival of sail” but in the fantastic trade winds of the Caribbean.
Finally, speaking of having a blast “simply messing about with boats”, a few hundred intrepid sailors manned their boats at dawn to sail in the annual Three Bridge Fiasco on San Francisco Bay. Indeed, it was a fiasco, since the sailors were fighting current and light winds to finish the 21nm race! In any event, a gaggle of J/70s, J/22s, J/24s, and a J/111 managed to do just that!
In the “long distance” category, the J/Community section has an amazing story of the world’s longest delivery of a J/70- you simply cannot imagine how far it had to go from “point A to point B”. Plus, Charlie Enright provides an update on Volvo Ocean Race sailing and what it’s like to sail a J/70-style one-design race on Volvo Ocean 65s for thousands of miles per leg!
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Oct 24- Mar 8- Monaco J/70 Winter Series- Monte Carlo, MonacoDec 13- Feb 7- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Davis Island, FL
Feb 6-8- Primo Cup- YC Monaco- Monte Carlo, Monaco
Feb 6-13- Pineapple Cup- Montego Bay YC- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Feb 18-21- J/27 Midwinters- New Orleans, LA
Feb 20-22- J/24 Midwinters- Davis Island YC- Tampa, FL
Feb 23- RORC 600 Race- English Harbour, Antigua
Mar 4-7- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- Miami, FL
Mar 5-8- Heineken St Maarten Regatta- St Maarten
Mar 13-15- J/30 Midwinters- New Orleans YC- New Orleans, LA
Mar 27-29- J/22 Midwinters- Jackson YC- Ridgeland, MS
Mar 27-29- St Thomas International Regatta- St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Mar 30- Apr 5- BVI Spring Regatta- Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Apr 13-18- Les Voiles St Barth- Gustavia, St Barthelemy
Apr 16-19- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 24- May 2- EDHEC Sailing Cup- La Rochelle, France
Apr 26- May 1- Antigua Sailing Week- Falmouth, Antigua
Boat Shows:
Feb 14-22- New England Boat Show- J/88
Apr 9-12- Apr 9-12- Strictly Sail Pacific- Oakland, CA- J/70, J/88, J/111
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/111 JOUST Tops Festival of Sails(Geelong, Australia)- The enormous keelboat fleet that makes up 65% of the entries in the 173rd Festival of Sails made the most of the flukey winds and another stunning summer’s day at Geelong on their penultimate day of the competition.
Each division peeled off the start line just off the Royal Geelong YC in five minute intervals in light winds starting at midday. They weather the breeze moving around the dial and provided the best colour you could imagine- processions of bright-coloured spinnakers lighting up Corio Bay and the outer harbour.
The J/111 JOUST from Melbourne claimed 1st Overall in the Boag’s Premium Cruiser/Racer Division 1, skipper Rod Warren pleasantly surprised to hear his boat with fresh new sails did the trick, despite a slight mishap at the end of the race.
“We will have a bigger bottle of champagne tonight,’ he laughed. “The boat has brand new North Sails 3Di’s and went very fast in the light winds, but we missed the finish line and had to go back 10 minutes, so if we still won, that’s pretty good! The boat is six months old and I have not sailed on a keelboat before! It’s our first big regatta.”
The Melbourne doctor and his crew of seven, all skippers of their own boats, are lapping up the Festival of Sails atmosphere. “We had no idea Geelong was so good. I said to someone ‘how long have you been keeping the regatta secret?’ They said 50 years,” he laughed!Rod commented on their performance later, “JOUST finished second in two divisions at the recent Geelong Festival of Sails Regatta which included nearly 300 boats and 30 in our division.
The first race was a 38 mile passage race. The wind came in late compressing the fleet and this did not help our result. We had an excellent race with our friends on the J/111 JAKE, with the lead exchanging several times under spinnaker. Eventually we were able to sneak away by only eight seconds. But, the fleet descended upon us like locusts, killing our handicap result!
The second race around the buoys, was over 18 miles, and saw light conditions. Our boat has been optimized for this and we were able to claim line honours against much larger craft and a handicap win as well!
The third race was held in heavy conditions with an interesting passage through a narrow channel under spinnaker. There was much carnage and one of our own jibes occurred only a few feet from the bricks. We were rewarded for setting our Code Zero in 20 knots with a terrific close reach and this gave us third on line honours and handicap in the fleet.
The success of the J/111 in all conditions in this regatta indicates its versatility, it’s not just a light-wind flyer but a great general regatta boat. We want to thank our great friend Aaron Cole from North Sails for designing the sails, calling tactics and convincing us that putting up a code zero in 20 knots was a good idea!” For more Geelong Festival of Sails sailing information
Gorgeous Sailing @ Grenada(St Georges, Grenada, Caribbean)- Upbeat. Growing. Increasingly competitive. Fabulous sunny weather with 10-20 kt trade-winds. Loads of fun with a variety of entertainment at two marinas (Port Louis Marina & Prickly Bay Marina). And, an All-Inclusive Party on Saturday night with five great bands performing in Virgin Bay. Plus, if you survived it, Sunday Lay Day gave sailors a chance to observe the workboat antics in the Grenada Sailing Festival racing off Grand Anse beach.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Well, like many other more famous sailing weeks in the Caribbean, “nothin’ mon!”
If you hadn’t heard yet, Grenada is one of the Caribbean’s truly fantastic destinations. Grenada Sailing Week lasts for seven days but for those who can stay longer, Grenada and its surrounding islands have much to offer.Grenada is not just a sailing destination; the tropical interior is mountainous with rivers and stunning waterfalls flowing into the sea. Known as the “Spice Island,” Grenada is one of the largest producers of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg in the world and the locally made chocolate is heaven to taste. Plus, Grenada is blessed with some of the most awe-inspiring beaches in the Caribbean; Grand Anse Beach, near the capital St. Georges, is one of the most popular and is famous throughout the Caribbean!
Oh, can’t forget the sailing part. Did everyone have fun? “You bet mon!” With sailing teams from the USA, United Kingdom, France, Austria, Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, Trinidad, and Grenada the sailors clearly had more than their fair share of “fun.” In addition to the CSA handicap keelboats, seven J/24 one-designs sailed their own courses literally right off the beach!
The J/Tribe in attendance apparently had a scream. Local rock star Peter Lewis sailed his J/105 WHISTLER to a 2nd in CSA Racing class, nearly winning after posting five bullets! Hal Slentz-Whalen’s J/125 EAGLES WINGS absolutely won the party, but not the sailing in CSA Racer Cruiser 1 class.In the J/24 Class, Robbie Yearwood’s DIE HARD/ ISLAND WATER WORLD (the regatta sponsor) pretty much “schooled” his colleagues in J/24 racing, compiling six 1sts, six 2nds, three 3rds and two 4ths in a SEVENTEEN race series! Imagine that! Seventeen races off the beach. And, they loved it! Next on the podium was Stephen Bushe’s AMBUSHE, giving the DIE HARD boys a serious run-for-the-money, other than the fact they had to take a DNF then DNS on their first day of racing. Third was Fred Sweeney’s ATTITUDE. Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wright/ photoaction.com For more Grenada Sailing Week sailing information
Fresh to Frightening 3BF Conditions? Not!
How a J/22 Nearly Crushed the 2015 Drift-A-Thon
(San Francisco, CA)- This year the winning formula was quite elusive for most boats; the nearly complete “glass-out” of the “Three Bridge Fiasco” (3BF) on San Francisco Bay, which kicked off Saturday morning, proved extremely frustrating for the lion’s share of sailors in this famous double/singlehanded pursuit race. The San Francisco Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society (SSS), the race organizers, had hoped the 350 boat fleet would at least get around the course, but their luck again ran out like it did last year.
The “3BF” is a reverse start pursuit race which begins and ends at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, rounding marks near SF Bay’s 3 major bridges: the Golden Gate, the San Francisco-Oakland, and the Richmond-San Rafael. The marks can be rounded in any order and in any direction. The start and finish line may also be crossed in either direction.For the racers, the seemingly simple task of starting, rounding all 3 marks and finishing is misleading. With a light morning wind and a building 3.7 knot ebbtide, how you choose to complete the course is pivotal to race success. The overall winner is the first boat back to the GGYC finish line after completing the 21.5 mile course.
According to Bruce Stone, sailing a St Francis YC J/22 double-handed with his wife Nicole Breault, “we had a northerly in the morning, so we decided to change our plan and go counter-clockwise. After a decent start, dodging heavy PHRF traffic and boats starting in the opposite direction, we popped the kite, rounded Treasure Island to port, then had a close reach, a beat and finally a beam reach with the kite to Red Rocks at the San Rafael Bridge.
We passed smaller boats and approached the island near the front of the pack with the kite being hoisted and dropped, jibed and doused several times, when of course the wind died, and the ebbtide built!! Aagghhh!
Numerous boats anchored to wait for the westerly to fill. As we and over 300 other boats converged on Red Rocks (near Richmond- San Rafael Bridge), the scene was magnificent, with the larger boats that started after us finally catching up to us and then slowly running out of steam. Few made it around. We eventually called it quits and turned to sail for home, with Nicole pulling out the oar to paddle us to a wind line.”
Bruce goes on to say that, “instead of going clockwise or counter-clockwise, our friend Chris Raab (with Dave Kelly on the bow sailing the J/22 AMERICA ONE) went up the middle to Red Rocks first off Richmond, so as to make it before the ebb was established. They rounded to starboard, then south to Treasure Island, then riding the fast ebbtide to Blackaller buoy at the Golden Gate Bridge and then to the finish in front of Golden Gate YC. After 7 hours or so of racing, he found himself in a duel with other PHRF competitors for line honors and managed to finish 12th, losing a few boats within the last ten minutes. Among our pack of ten St. Francis YC J-22s, only one other finished the race, skippered by Andrew Kobylinski- sailing T-BIRD.” Apparently, the Raab/ Kelly duo rounded the last mark, Blackaller Buoy near the south pylon of the Golden Gate Bridge, and immediately set a spinnaker. However, with a top three finish in their sights, the merciless ebbtide kept building much stronger (up to 3.5 kts), even along the shoreline in front of Crissey Field and St Francis YC. “Raabo” was not terribly happy with the scenario as they had worked hard all day and were soon having to fight off a big cluster of Express 27s and Moore 24s that rapidly overtook them.
Top J/Team honors instead went to the J/24 EVIL OCTOPUS sailed by Jasper Van Vliet, a long-time SF Bay veteran and an avid fan of the SSS’s 3BF race! Their 10th place also came at Raabo’s expense. Behind them in 13th overall and 3rd J/Boat was Val Lulevich’s J/24 infamously-named SHUT UP & DRIVE. Behind T-BIRD in 17th place was Howard Turner’s J/111 SYMMETRY; with another mile of runway it’s likely they could’ve won the race they were closing so fast on the leaders (they were the best “big boat” finish of all 350-odd boats)! First J/70 was Scott Sellers sailing 1FA into 22nd place. The only other two J/70s finishing were Tyler Karaszewski’s SPITFIRE in 30th and Peter Cameron’s PRIME NUMBER in 34th.
Only 40 boats finished in the 300-boat Double Handed Monohull class, all 260 others dropped out! 25% of the top 20 is not bad for these intrepid J/Sailors, especially considering the massively mind-numbing race it must’ve been for those salty dogs! For more Three Bridge Fiasco sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Longest J/70 delivery yet? Maybe. Sydney to Fremantle is only 2,485 miles driving!! But, the distance from Bristol, Rhode Island to Sydney is over 11,000 miles! Total J/70 traveling distance before it’s first sail?! 13,485 miles minimum, no wrong turns! Here is the story from Malcolm, her new owner:“What I got for Christmas and how it became the most travelled J/70 in the world??
It all started when I met Rod from VicSail WA (the J/Boats Western Australia dealer) at the Mandurah Boat show where he had the first J/70 in Western Australia on display. I had done my research on the J/70 and, after seeing it, ordered one!
As it happened Rod & Tony of Vicsail Yachts WA’s Sydney colleague, Ray from Yachtspot, had placed an order for two and the second one had no name against it. So, it became mine! With a promise of delivery before Christmas!
However, the odds began to stack against the J/Boat guys in Australia. The J/70s left the Port of New York on time but the freighter ran into problems in Jeddah and was delayed by several days. This delay impacted the arrival time in Singapore to the point the container had to be trans-shipped and placed on another freighter from Singapore.The original delivery time into Sydney of the 2nd December was now in serious doubt. Fate struck again when the ship was delayed in Brisbane, Australia but it finally arrived in Sydney on the 12th December. Sweet! Still plenty of time! Or, so we thought. Then, a strike by the Stevedores in Port Botany! Good Lord, now another few days of delays and my Christmas boat in jeopardy once more.
The J/70s finally trucked from Port Botany to Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club to be un-packed on 17th December and this is when the service from the J/Boat guys really kicked in. They were now finally in control of the boats.
I spoke to Tony and he advised, ‘No worries Malcolm, we will have your boat un-packed, keel fitted, prepped for the journey and on a waiting trailer today (Wednesday the 17th). We are meeting Ray at the “Big Galah” on Friday the 18th and he said his own J/70 can wait until he returns.’
The “Big Galah” for the non-Australians amongst you is the name of a famous landmark featuring a giant model of a “galah” 8.5 meters high and situated halfway between Perth in Western Australia and Sydney on the east coast. Tony, Rod and Ray made this amazing trip of 2,100 km each in 2 days and met with my boat at the Big Galah on Friday 19th December. Tony & Rod delivered my J/70 to Royal Perth Yacht Club on Sunday 20th December after its memorable journey from the USA, and an even more incredible delivery of over 4,200 km across Australia! Amazing!Thanks to the combined efforts of the J/Boats Team in Australia, my new J/70 arrived in time for Christmas as they promised! Thanks a million, Malcolm”
Recent reports from Malcolm is that he’s one incredibly happy guy! Loves the boat, especially since it’s about the only sport boat in Fremantle that can handle the daily 20-30 kts TWS! Malcolm has promised some “amazing video” soon!
* Volvo Ocean Race- The Charlie Enright Update. Charlie has been a world-class J/24 sailor from Newport, Rhode Island and has assembled an all-star cast of sailors to power TEAM ALVIMEDICA in the 2014-2015 VOLVO OCEAN RACE. After the third leg, Charlie had a chance to provide some perspectives on what amounts to a “giant J/24 one-design race” across oceans.After winning the first In-Port race, TEAM ALVIMEDICA felt ready for the Volvo Ocean Race to begin, but legs one and two would show them otherwise. So the team got to work, assessing their onboard operations and looked hard at how other boats were set-up. Improving throughout the race is vital for success, and TEAM ALVIMEDICA took a positive step by finishing third in leg three from Abu Dhabi to Sanya. Scuttlebutt Newsletter Editor, Craig Leweck, checks in with Charlie for an update on their progress:
SN: To what do you attribute your progress?
CE: It really is a lot of small things, but for starters, my relationship with our navigator Will Oxley is definitely strengthening. We’re learning how to play off each other, what our strengths and weaknesses are, how best to allocate our time. It is important that we can be decisive when needed, and this leg showed that for us.
Along the Pakistani Coast, we didn’t have a problem breaking from the group and being the first guys to lead offshore, which proved to be a good move on the fleet. When in the Malacca Strait, we caught ourselves confidently leading in directions as opposed to just hedging, which was a healthy change. Going out of Singapore we positioned ourselves amid the fleet so we could sail a mode that we think is one of our strengths upwind and breeze. And then when short tacking along Vietnamese coast, we again made gains in a situation where a leg ago I don’t think we would have fared nearly as well..
Our progress is due to the systems now in place, the allocation of resources, the way we managed the watch system, the stack… everything. We went in with a battle plan and we were able to execute it with efficiency and confidence.
SN: Good decision making is usually a result of being fast? Or, not?
CE: I think it’s very situation-dependent. We still have our speed issues in light air running, and tend to slip back when the conditions don’t suit our strengths. But nobody’s fast as Dongfeng in under 13 knots with the A3, which is what allowed them to jump ahead into their own weather to win leg three. We can also learn from Brunel which is quite good with the masthead zero, and Abu Dhabi is very well-rounded and perpetually fast, which allows them to execute conservative tactics.
SN: Which team are you most curious about?
CE: Right now you’d have to say Dongfeng. They break the most stuff….are they pushing the hardest? Is it the certain set-ups they have? I think everybody is most curious about what they have going on.
SN: Each team is required to use the Automatic Identification System (AIS), how can this help with boat speed improvement?
CE: It certainly doesn’t hurt, but all it really tells you is whether you’re fast or slow. As long as we are within range of another boat (8-10 miles), we can use AIS to remain in touch to measure performance, but then it is on us to sort out the reasons for speed differences.
If you’re going upwind in 18 knots and you’re gaining on everybody, then you know you got a good mode and should record those settings. Just the same, if you’re going downwind with the A3 and you’re slow, then that’s where you got to put in your time. That’s where you’ve got to figure it out. AIS will tell us another boat’s direction and speed, but not what sails they are using, where their stack is, how their tanks are filled, etc.
SN: Nevertheless, making progress must feel good?
CE: Our strength right now is stable sailing and this past leg had pretty light conditions, so posting our best finish result in conditions that are not our strength is very positive. There were times along the Indian coast when we were hemorrhaging miles all the way south, so the light air running is an area we must work on. But by grinding it out and staying in touch, we gave ourselves the opportunity to make some pretty good navigational and tactical decisions as we got to some of the various features of the latter part of the leg, and by doing those things confidently is what helped us separate ourselves towards the end of it. But we still have a lot of work to do.
The tag line of this race for us is everybody has to deal with the same variables. It’s the one-design system and the shared maintenance boatyard concept. Everybody is given the same tools and everybody is racing on the same course. So despite the elements of randomness, and leg three had a lot of randomness, it’s random for everybody and each team takes a turn at getting kicked. And despite the conditions, the boats that sailed the best, finished the best in this particular leg regardless of what the obstacles were. But we want to consistently be one of those boats.
SN: You mention elements of randomness… can you share some of the randomness you encountered on leg three.
CE: Short-tacking up the Vietnamese coast, you look west and you’d see a bunch of lights and you’re like, “Okay, that makes sense, that’s land.” And then you’d look to the east and you see a bunch of lights and you’re like, “There’s that many fisherman out here? That is absolutely insane.” And we saw a mother ship with these guys floating in what looked like a basket with an oar, and they were all fishing. We’re bombing along at 12 knots and these floaters have only a flashlight to defend themselves. I think for us, that’s scary because it’s like, “What can I do for this guy if I hit him?”
But the biggest concern was the commercial traffic, the heavy metal. A big merchant ship that’s going 20 knots in the Malacca Strait, and we’re drifting at .5 knots and unable to get them on the radio. That makes it hard for me to sleep. Running over a fishing net, yeah, that’s annoying. There’s so many of them, everyone’s going to have their turn.
All in all, the course was pretty crazy, so for all the teams to get through unscathed is pretty remarkable.
Background: The 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 11 with the final finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Racing the new one design Volvo Ocean 65, seven teams will be scoring points in 9 offshore legs to determine the overall Volvo Ocean Race winner. Additionally, the teams will compete in 10 In-Port races at each stopover for a separate competition – the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port Series. The fourth leg, from Sanya, China to Auckland, New Zealand (5,264 nm), begins Feb. 8 with an ETA of Feb. 25- Mar. 5. Volvo Ocean Race website here.
J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
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J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
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