J/Newsletter- January 13th, 2016

J/Boats News is a digest of worldwide events, regattas, and news for sailing enthusiasts and members of our J Community. Contributions regarding your racing, cruising or human interest stories on-board J's are welcome- please send to "editor@jboats.com".  For you globe-trotting J cruisers, please keep us up-to-date with your travels- for examples to chronicle your adventures please see our J/ Community Cruising section below. January 13th, 2016 Windy City Boat Show- See the 112E, 88 & 70! (Chicago, IL)- Make plans now to visit Chicago, enjoy the Magnificent Mile, explore world-class museums and check out the latest boats from the J/Design team’s drawing board!  From Jan 14th to 18th, the Chicago Boat Show will be taking place at McCormick Place on the south side of Chicago’s beautiful lakefront. On display will be three exciting models- the new J/112E sport cruiser that was featured in the Narragansett Bay sailing videos, the Mac Race offshore killer- the J/88 family speedster, and the wildly popular J/70 class that is growing in popularity on Lake Michigan and across the Midwest.  Please be sure to contact Rich Stearns @ Stearns Boating for further information- cell# 847-404-2209 or email- rich@stearnsboating.com  For more Chicago Boat Show information. Women’s Keelboat Worlds Sailing J/70s! (Portsmouth, RI)- The International Women’s Keelboat Championship (IWKC) returns! The revitalized US Sailing Championship, with a new and exciting approach, is aimed at maximizing opportunities for women sailors to participate in high caliber regattas against top international sailors. The American Yacht Club in Rye, N.Y. will host the new IWKC in J/70's from August 14th to 20th, 2016. With the goal of attracting more international teams, the championship will rotate each year to venues within, and outside the U.S. More than ever, this championship will offer women keelboat and offshore sailors high quality racing on the international stage. Twenty-four teams will be selected through an application process. Half the teams selected will represent North American countries and half will represent countries from around the world. To ensure a fast and competitive racing format, additional changes have been made to speed up the action. The format consists of fleet racing with a “team racing” twist, featuring two flights of six boats each with teams rotating after every two races. Each team will race an equal number of races against the others. Races will be approximately 15 minutes in duration. Host clubs will ensure quick rotations and on-the-water judging, in addition to an improved viewing experience for spectators. The International Women’s Keelboat Championship was inaugurated in 1985 through the efforts of the US Sailing Women’s Championship Committee--- for years the women sailed J/24s. The event became one of the premier women’s sailing event in the USA and worldwide. The Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, RI was host for the event and hosted the championship until 2001, before it moved around the country to different venues. The trophy is named for Bengt Julin, an international judge and strong supporter of women’s sailing. Julin presented the very first trophy to Betsy Alison and retired the original to her after she had won it three times consecutively. Alison had an unbroken winning streak competing against teams from a dozen or more nations from 1991 through 1997. In 2007, Sally Barkow matched Alison by winning the championship for the third time. An impressive list of former champions includes Cory Sertl, Anna Tunnicliffe, Jody Starck, and J.J. Fetter. Sertl won the most recent International Women’s Keelboat Championship in 2011 at the Rochester Yacht Club (NY); last sailed in J/22's.  Please contact Jake Fish at US Sailing for more information- jakefish@ussailing.org   For more Women’s Worlds sailing information. Key West Race Week Preview (Key West, FL)- America’s “Woodstock” of sailing is about to commence in the historical capital of the Conch Republic- Key West- from January 18th to 22nd.  It has a special place in the hearts of sailors from across the spectrum of time, especially for those who sailed the first major regatta held on the island back in 1978- the inaugural J/24 Midwinters.  Since then, the event has attracted thousands of sailors from around the world to sail in the balmy southeasterly tradewinds, gorgeous clear blue skies, and the translucent aquamarine waters of the Florida Keys. In 2016, Storm Trysail Club and event sponsor Quantum Sails have Regatta Chairman Bill Canfield orchestrating a most excellent sailing experience in Caribbean-type waters (note- Bill ran the extraordinarily successful Rolex St Thomas Regatta for nearly two decades).  As a result, the event has 140 boats registered to date with 78 J/Teams (56% of the fleet!) spread across three one-design classes (J/70, J/88, J/111) and three handicap classes (IRC & ORR). Nine J/111s will be sailing their inaugural J/111 Midwinter Championship on the Division I course area.  It is a stellar fleet of competitors, with teams ranging from the West Coast (San Francisco & San Diego), to the Midwest (Great Lakes), and to the East Coast (Marblehead, Long Island Sound, Buzzards Bay).  Past Key West class winner SPACEMAN SPIFF, skippered by Rob Ruhlman from Lakeside YC in Cleveland, OH , should be the pace-setter for the class based on their 5th in the 2015 J/111 Worlds Newport.  On that basis, Bill Smith’s WOOTON from Chicago, IL and Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, CA will also be strong contenders for the class lead.  However, a number of other teams that are champions in their regions will certainly be contenders; such as Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY from St Francis YC (a top San Francisco Bay team); Brad Farber’s UTAH of Macatawa Bay YC; Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY from Annapolis YC; Gary Weisberg’s HEAT WAVE from Gloucester, MA; and the two New England teams- Sedge Ward’s BRAVO and Doug Curtiss’ WICKED 2.0. Not to be outdone by their sisterships, the J/88s are also hosting their inaugural J/88 Midwinter Championship with eight boats participating on the Division 3 course area. As the 2015 PHRF Class winner, Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION from Long Island Sound is hoping to repeat the magic that led to her first major regatta win in the J/88s.  Chasing her hard will be a rogue’s gallery of teams, such as the recent AYC Fall Series winner WINGS, skippered by Mike Bruno from American YC; a top team from Lake Ontario- Joe & Jeff Pawlowski’s EASY EIGHTS from Youngstown YC; Doug McKeige’s JAZZ crew that won class in the Manhasset Fall Series; and, last year’s Charleston Race Week winner and second in KWRW, Rob Butler’s TOUCH2PLAY RACING from Collingwood, Ontario. Two “newbies” to the fleet include the new J/88 Oceanvolt model- BLONDIE 2 (sailed by Tod Patton and Jeff Johnstone) and Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS from San Francisco, CA. The fifty-five J/70’s registered are by far the largest fleet at the regatta for the fourth year in a row.  They will be sailing on the Division 2 course area, the first one to the east out of the ship channel on the south side of the island.  The level of competition continues to improve and several of the top teams from the J/70 Worlds in La Rochelle, France are participating.  Like last year, the foreign contingent continues to expand, with teams sailing from nine countries- Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Finland, Spain, Norway, and France!  There are many new faces in the crowd that are well-prepared, fast and smart.  Will Jud Smith’s AFRICA continue to maintain pace after winning the North Americans in San Diego?  Or, will the past two World Champions (Tim Healy’s HELLY HANSEN from Newport, RI and Julian Fernandez’s FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO from Valle de Bravo, Mexico) stay in the hunt for a podium finish?  In either event, they will have the 2015 Key West Midwinter Champion, Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK from Pesaro, Italy, setting a blistering hot pace, too. Several J/70 contenders that have posted multiple top five finishes in major regattas include Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT, Bob Hughes’ HEARTBREAKER, Tim Molony’s JOUST, Dan & Gannon Troutman’s PIED PIPER (5th @ KWRW 2015), Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND, Peter Duncan’s RELATIVE OBSCURITY, John Brim’s RIMETTE, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA, Peter Vessella’s RUNNING WILD and Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD. In the world of handicap racing, the famous J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE from San Francisco Bay will be sailing in IRC 2 Class on the Division 1 race area.  The class may be in for a shocker, as the DT gangster’s have “four-peated” the Rolex Big Boat Series on the Bay, winning the IRC Class against the hottest West Coast offshore teams. The ORC 1 Class will see two world-class J/122 teams vying for class honors- past Key West Champions TEAMWORK (with Robin Team on the helm) and Paul Milo’s ORION from Virginia (an Annapolis-Newport Race winner).  They will be challenged by Peter Sulick’s J/100 SKYFALL from Naples, FL. The ORC 2 Class has two J/80s dueling for class supremacy, including Peter Boland’s ACQUA VELOCE from San Francisco Bay and Henry DeGroot’s WIRED from Buzzards Bay. Finally, the “just-for-fun” random-leg class called Performance Cruising will see Denise Imhoff’s J/22 FLEEBOFLAM from Ventura Sailing Club in California sailing against an enormous range of boats up to 58 feet long!  Sailing photo credit- Steve Lapkin.com and Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing and Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com. For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information YC Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series III Update (Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The third act of the YC Monaco’s Sportsboat Winter Series is taking place from January 15th to 17th on Hercules Bay in front of the famous municipality along the Italian/ French Riviera. The 35+ teams participating from seven countries (Monaco, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland) will begin to focus on their training for the upcoming Primo Cup Trophee Credit Suisse that runs over Valentine’s Day Weekend. The first two weekends of the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series have produced very close racing.  So close, in fact, that the winners of the last regatta in December were determined on a tie-breaker. The top three in the last event were Sweden’s Ingemar Sundstedt on ROCAD RACING, Monaco’s Irina Travadel sailing with her crew on LIBECCIO and the German BREZE team led by Oliver Oczycz.  Watch out for crews like Italy’s Mario Beraha on SASHA GREY, the German UNITED DOMAINS team skippered by Julian Autenrieth, and the top German Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga team, TRE MARKELLER helmed by Claas Lehmann, to be in the hunt for podium finishes. The next events hosted by YC Monaco include:     Feb 12-14- Primo Cup Trophee Credit Suisse     Mar 4-6- Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series- Act 4     Mar 18-20- Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series- Act 5     Jul 2-3 Challenge Inter-Banques Trophee ERI For more YC Monaco J/70 Winter Series sailing information J/Sailing News The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide The winter regatta circuit is slowly starting to heat up in Europe as well as the Americas.  This past week saw the second act of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series take place on Tampa Bay, hosted by Davis Island YC.  On the opposite coast of Florida, the Lauderdale YC and Storm Trysail Club hosted the classic “feeder” race that goes 160nm around the bottom of the state and the Florida Keys to Key West; a small fleet of boats had awesome downwind sailing in a strong NE to Easterly breeze, with a majority of the fleet finishing in less than 24 hours!  On the far side of America, the San Diego YC hosted the first of the three event J/22 California Dreamin Series- a round-robin match race series sailed in evenly matched J/22s. 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: Jan 18-22- Quantum Key West Race Week- Key West, FL Feb 6-7- Quantum J/70 Winter Series III- Tampa, FL Feb 25-28- J/70 Midwinter Championship- St. Petersburg, FL Mar 10-13- J/70 Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL Apr 16-19- Charleston Race Week– Charleston, SC Sailboat Shows: Jan 8-17- London Boat Show (112E, 88, 70)- London, England Jan 8-17- Toronto Boat Show (70)- Toronto, Ontario Jan 14-18- Chicago Boat Show (112E, 88, 70)- Chicago, IL Jan 23-31- Boot Dusseldorf (70, 112E, 122E)- Dusseldorf, Germany Jan 21-24- San Diego Sun Road Boat Show- San Diego, CA Jan 15-18- San Francisco Boat Show- San Francisco, CA Jan 29- Feb 6- Seattle Boat Show- Seattle, WA Feb 11-15- Miami Boat Show (112E, 122E, 70)- Miami, FL Feb 13-21- Boston Boat Show (88)- Boston, MA For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar. VINEYARD VINES Two-Peats Quantum J/70 Winter Series (Tampa, FL)- The second act of the Quantum J/70 Winter Series, hosted by Davis Island YC on Tampa Bay, produced another pleasant surprise- wind!  The sailors could not have been happier to get in six races over the weekend. The record fifty-two entries were again eclipsed by the remarkably consistent VINEYARD VINES team lead by John & Molly Baxter from New York YC!  Starting off with all top four finishes (2-1-3-4-4), Baxter’s team seemingly backed off on the gas pedal and closed with a 12th on the sixth and final race to win with 26 pts.  Behind them, most teams were experiencing roller-coaster scorelines with dramatic swings from the rarified air of the top three to subterranean double-digits.  Doing better than most was Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND, posting a 7-3-5-11-7-1 tally for 34 pts to grab the silver.  Settling in for the bronze was Geoff Becker’s USA 25 from Severn Sailing Association with a record of 1-10-11-1-9-9 for 41 pts.  Rounding out the top five was Jeff Janov’s E.L.E. from California YC with 52 pts in 4th position and David Hiebert’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth Boat Club with 56 pts in 5th. In the 21 boat Corinthian’s Division, everything went topsy-turvy for the top boats.  Winning the division was Brian Elliott’s B-SQUARED with a record of 3-6-9-9-23-21 for 71 pts.  Twenty points back in 2nd place was Todd Jenner’s TEA DANCE SNAKE with a scoreline of 11-12-15-17-6-33 for 94 pts. Third was John Arendshorst’s 20/20 from Macatawa Bay YC with 111 pts. The third and final event for the series takes place February 6th to 7th at Davis Island YC.   For more Quantum J/70 Winter Series III sailing information Fast Lauderdale to Key West Race! (Fort Lauderdale, FL)- The forecast for the start on Wednesday at 1pm was promising- NNE winds of 10-20 kts veering slowly over the next 48 hours into the ESE in the 8-15 kts range.  However, by late afternoon the forecasts of a slow-moving front producing intermittent rain showers and squalls of the hockey-stick shaped 160nm race course meant that crews would have to be on their toes all night to keep their boats moving fast.  As it evolved, the fleet was faced with periods of lighter airs amidst rain squalls that produced gusts over 25 kts at times and wind shifts up to 90 degrees- a bizarre phenomenon often produced the fleets proximity to the infamous Gulf Stream pumping incredibly warm air into the atmosphere as the warm front passed overhead. First to finish of the J/crews was the J/125 RAISIN’ CANE, Frank Atkinson’s local crew from Coconut Grove SC in Miami, FL, crossing the line just after sunrise at 0754 hrs on Thursday.  However, finishing just over one hour later were the two J/111s.  Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE finished at 0901 hrs, just over 11 minutes in front of Gary Weisberg’s HEAT WAVE.  As a result, the PHRF A Class saw PERSEVERANCE take 2nd overall with HEAT WAVE in 3rd and RAISIN’ CANE in 5th place. In the IRC Division, Paul Milo’s J/122 ORION had a slow go of it offshore overnight, finishing behind the 111s and 125 to cross the line at 1113 hrs to take ninth place in their class. Offshore veteran Frank Kern and his fun-loving merry bandits from Grosse Pointe, MI and Bayview YC sailed their J/120 CARINTHIA hard and fast all the way Midwestern blue—collar-style to take third in PHRF B Class, crossing the line at 0936 hrs.  That is a LOT of silverware to add to the overloaded trophy shelves back at Camp Kern!! Finally, in PHRF C Class, the classic J/40 family cruiser took the silver in class- Jim Bordeaux’s SOLSTICE- finishing at 1218 hrs.  She lives up to an old tradition of J/40s winning class starting with the Chicago-Mackinac Race performance of CHINA CLOUD back in in 1990.  The J/88 family speedster, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 from Annapolis, MD, had Kristen Berry and a J/World Annapolis student crew grab a well-deserved fourth overall after finishing by midday at 1258 hrs!   For more Key West Race sailing information Cabrillo Beach YC Leading J/22 California Dreamin’ Series (San Diego, CA)- West Coast clubs have been running a match racing series in J/22s called the "California Dreamin' Series".  It's a set of match racing events in which skippers have the opportunity to compete in three consecutive weekends of ISAF Grade 3 match racing. The 2016 series started off in San Diego this year, hosted by San Diego YC.  Steve Natvig from Cabrillo Beach YC won the opening event of the three weekend-long California Dreamin' Series.  Steve has been frequent crew for Dave Perry and was pleased to have this shot at showing what he could do at the helm.  Incredibly enough, this was the first time for Natvig to be skippering a match race since 2006.  Close behind in second place was Nicole Breault from St. Francis YC and in third was Alex Jacobs of San Diego YC. Long Beach YC hosts the next stop, last weekend of February, and the St. Francis YC hosts the final stop on March 12-13. The cumulative winner will be invited to compete in the Grade 2 Ficker Cup at Long Beach YC in early April. The racing area proved to be a challenge for the sailors as well.  J/22s were sailing off the starting line and the teams raced to a windward mark that was placed between two monstrous US Navy nuclear aircraft carriers (1,200 ft long and 300 ft high)- the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Here are the winning team photos.  One is Nicole Breault and her team accepting the second place trophies from SDYC Vice Commodore John Reiter. The innovative "emergency repair kit" trophies, designed by SDYC club member Ian Trotter, contained sail tape, shackles, flashlight, sharpies, spectra line, zip ties and other useful gear.   For more J/22 California Dreamin’ Match Race Series sailing information   J/Community What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide ----------- * J/105’s sailing/ chartering in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico??  Why not!!  J/80 owner Bart Smit from Toronto, Ontario, Canada spends his winter time in Puerto Vallarta enjoying the spectacular, gorgeous waters of Bahia de Banderas all season long. For J sailors anywhere around the world, you need to experience sailing in these beautiful waters that are favored by top Mexican sailors (like the current J/70 World Champion and J/24 Mexican National Champion!).  A daily seabreeze fills in like clockwork by 1200 hrs and builds to a benign 10-15 kts from the west on a typical sunny day.  Does that sound OK??  Well, let’s say this, if you enjoy other “seabreeze machines” like San Francisco, Newport, Buzzards Bay, Corpus Christi, Long Beach, then you will not be disappointed by PV’s extraordinary weather. If this idea sounds too far-fetched for you, please be sure to contact Bart Smit about sailing/ chartering his J/105 in Puerto Vallarta!  Contact Bart at email- bartsmitj80@icloud.com.   Check out their J/105 Facebook page * RYA Awards/ British Sailing Awards Announced with J/24 & J/70 sailors playing key roles in the ceremony!  For starters, Ian Walker was named the “boats.com YJA Yachtsman of the Year” by the Yachting Journalists’ Association.  Ian is from Warsash in Hampshire and is the first British skipper to win the Volvo Ocean Race in the event’s 37 year history, when he led Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing to victory in the 2014-15 event. Ian and his team also won the in-port race series and set a 24-hour distance record of an incredible 550.82 nautical miles.  As it turns out, as Ian was learning about sailing and racing on the Solent, he spent lots of time sailing various J/24s and J/80s refining his knowledge of sail trim, boatspeed, tactics and strategies.  All of that experience came to bear upon sailing one-design Volvo 65s in the last race! The event was sponsored by boats.com and President Ian Atkins , along with Paul Gelder, Chairman of the YJA, presented the awards.  Ian is a lifelong J sailor, having raced J/24s, J/80s and most recently, the J/70 boats.com- sailing well enough to finish 4th in the 2015 J/70 Worlds in La Rochelle, France. In addition to the two Ian’s, Eddie Warden-Owen, the CEO of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, also shares the distinction of having sailed J’s for years- as J/24 European Champion as well as Cowes Week Champion on the J/35 JAILBIRD, amongst others!   Listen to radio interviews with the winning sailors… click 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. * The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific.  Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/ * J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands.  Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination?  A giant whale!  Look at this amazing photo! * Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR.  Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now.  We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their  well-documented blog here:  http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html * J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016!  We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR.   Alan sent us an email update regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above).  They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands. * Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea".  The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update: Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers.  We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries. WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?" Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975. Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary. People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather." READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE * The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand.  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.