J/Demo Day- May 21st!(Newport, RI)- Please join us as we usher in the 2016 sailing season with a day of J sailing in scenic Newport, Rhode Island. We’ll have several J models on display at Sail Newport’s Volvo Pier at Fort Adams State Park (free parking) from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on May 21st- Saturday. We’ll then take to the water in the afternoon for hourly trial sails until 5:00 pm.
Try one boat or sign up to sail on several! What a perfect opportunity to sail the J you’ve always wanted! The current line-up of boats include: J/70, J/88, J/97E, J/109, J/111, J/112E and J/133.
To sign up for a specific demo-time and model, please email (info@jboats.com) or call us (+1-401-846-8410)!
USA J/24 Nationals Preview(Great South Bay, NY)- The forty-odd J/24s that are planning to participate in the 2016 J/24 Nationals from May 11th to 15th will be in for a treat. Hosted by Sayville YC located on the south shore of Long Island, the sailors will enjoy the cozy confines of a beautiful club and the very challenging racing that can take place on Great South Bay. Blustery offshore breezes from the northerly quadrants make for extremely shifty, lake-like conditions with flat, but choppy waters due to the extreme shallowness of the entire Bay. Conversely, if the fleet experiences anything breeze from the southern segments of the compass, it’s possible to have sunny, warm breezes blowing off the ocean with a seabreeze component that can accelerate any gradient wind into the high-teens or low twenties (remember, most of western Long Island is paved).
Looking forward to the fast, short-course racing that is practiced on Great South Bay will be a host of crews that have strong college-racing backgrounds and will revel in the tight quarters that are sure to happen not only on the starting line, but at all mark-roundings. Multiple J/24 World Champions are participating as either skippers or tacticians, including Will Welles from Newport, RI and John Mollicone & Tim Healy from SailNewport. A past J/24 South American Champion is joining the fun- the Argentinean Nicolas Cubria from Club Nautico Olivos. Plus, the J/24 Mexican National Champion will be testing their skills against these top competitors- Ken Porter from Club Nautico Valle de Bravo near Mexico City.
Keeping those few boats honest will be other champion J/24 sailors from the past & present, like Carter White’s Sea Bags Sailing Team from Portland YC and colleague Erica Beck Spencer’s Sea Bags Women’s Sailing Team from the same club. Travis Odenbach from Rochester YC in Rochester, NY is no stranger to the J/24 wars, collecting his fair share of silverware in time. Locals Aidan Glackin from Centerport YC and brother Fred & Al Constants from Seawanhaka YC know the waters well and will be formidable in any weather. Finally, top Seattle sailor, Mike Johnson from Seattle YC is planning to show them all how it’s done in the Pacific Northwest. For more USA J/24 Nationals sailing information
Race 2 Straits Preview(Seattle, WA)- Rock stars of the Puget Sound offshore short-handed sailing world are congregating for the infamous Sloop Tavern YC annual Race to the Straits Regatta. It is a weekend-long affair that starts on Saturday and heads north. Finishers are treated to a massive celebration (party!) at the finish line that often goes well into the wee hours of the evening (morning!) for some. Then, as everyone doubles-down on their coffee and their brain cells, they then head back down south from whence they came! It is surely a recipe for a lot of fun, many memories, and, hopefully, not too many twists, disasters, and inappropriate takedowns!
Thirty-six J/Teams are entered! That’s 27% of the 134 entries! And, they will all be looking forward to the weather forecast that promises a mix of conditions both days- so far the forecast shows upwind against the current on Saturday and downwind against the current on Sunday!
A massive J/105 fleet is partaking in the racing and festivities. With a one-design start for nine teams, it will be an epic battle to work up the shore to get out of the current! Many of the top boats will be in the fight, including DELIRIUM (Paul Henderson/ Ramona Barber), JADED (Bianco/ Barron), LAAST TANGO (Jim Geros), DULCINEA (Matthew-Gardner Brown) and JUBILEE (Kathryn Meyer). In fact, three of the teams are also participating in the “Jack & Jill” division for mixed teams.
The big boat division will be tough, as it will include several top offshore boats in the Seattle fleet. Hoping to claim at least line honors will be the J/125 HAMACHI (Fritz Lanzinger), but they will have a number of experienced teams thirsting for that first day “uphill” tactical nightmare, like the two J/122s- JOYRIDE (John Murkowski) and GRACE (Andy & Jaime Mack); the J/44 ASYLUM (Kyle Caldwell); and the two J/109s- TANTIVY (Stu Burnell) and MOUNTAIN (Reed Bernhard).
In the classic cruiser group are two J/35c’s- WILDFLOWER (Tom Mitchell) and SHADOWFAX (David Jade); the J/36 MONKEYBONES (Shawn Dougherty); the J/37c MERRY MAKER (Bill?); the J/35 SOLUTION (Tyson Varosyan); and the J/33 CORVO (Tom Kerr & Serhad).
Finally, in the small cruiser racer group is likely to be three J/80s- UNDERDOG (Lek Dimarucott), TAJ MAHAL (David Schutte), & JOLLY GREEN (Mike Poole); three J/29s- PLAN R (Paul Hanson), RUBY (Jessica Aguilar), & HERE & NOW (Patrick Denney); four J/30s- IMPULSIVE (Ulf & George Gwildis), CONRAD J (Adrien Felon), SLINGSHOT (Cameron Gaskill), & TAKU (Theo Singelis); two J/27s- WIZARD (Leo Morales) & NUMBER LXIII (Dennis?); and a lone J/24- FLYER (Scott Galbraith). For more Sloop Tavern YC Race To The Straits sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Last week was busy one in the world of J sailors, even for the last week of April. Activity was taking place on at least three continents. For starters, in America the enormously popular Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta was hosted by Annapolis YC for a record eight J classes (J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/30, J/35, J/105, J/111) and offshore classes that amounted to a ninth one-design class- J/109s! Then, just north the J/24s were sailing their J-Daze Regatta on Canandaigua Lake and hosted by the amazing Canandaigua YC. Also happening in the New York was the conclusion of the American YC Spring Series for one-design classes of J/70s, J/105s, J/109s and offshore classes that included J/88s and J/29s. Out West, two significant regattas were taking place; San Diego YC’s classic spring opener, the Yachting Cup Regatta for one-design classes of J/70s, J/105s, J/105s, J/120s, and offshore boats like the J/125s. Also, a well-loved regatta for locals was the Cinco de Mayo Regatta, hosted by Santa Barbara Sailing Club for one-design classes of J/70s and J/24s!Zipping east over to the Caribbean, we find that the winter series of regattas there ended with the Antigua Sailing Week, with good performances by J/122s, J/11S and J/35s!
Further east across the Atlantic, there was a lot happening in Continental Europe. The first of the German sailing league events took place on Starnberger Lake; the Munich YC hosted the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga’s Act I on a fleet of J/70s for eighteen sailing clubs. Not far way down south in Barcelona, Spain, the J/80 class hosed their Catalonian Nautica Watches Regatta with several World Champions in attendance. Over in Italy, the ORC/IRC Trofeo Challenger Armatore Costa d’Argento was held off Porto Santo Stefano, Italy- a three race series that had an amazingly successful J/24 partake in offshore adventure! Also taking place Italy was Act II of the National J/24 Italian circuit off Livorno, Italy. Then, just across the English Channel, the RORC held the first major event of their Offshore series- the Cervantes Trophy Race- well-sailed by a J/133, J/105 and J/109.
News from Down Under, comes from friends in Australia. First, a J/111 sailed the Super 11 Series off Melbourne, Australia and surprised many experienced offshore sailors. Then, the J/24 class held their Victoria States Championship, also in Melbourne, for a large and enthusiastic fleet of sailors with many fresh, young faces in the fleet.
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:
May 5-7- GPEN Open France- Brest, FranceMay 6- RORC North Sea Race- Cowes, IOW, England
May 6-8- Swiss J/70 Sailing League- Neuenberg, Switzerland
May 7-8- ALCATEL J/70 Cup- San Remo, Italy
May 7-8- Catalonia J/80 Championship- Barcelona, Spain
May 7-8- Race to the Straits Regatta- Seattle, WA
May 11-16- J/24 USA Nationals- Blue Point, NY
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Flynn’s J/22 Is Annapolis NOOD Overall WinnerJ/Crews Endure Cold, Wet, Windy Regatta
(Annapolis, MD)- As usual, the weather forecasters were dead wrong, a tradition it seems for the annual spring rite of passage known as the Helly Hansen Annapolis NOD Regatta. The 194 boats were treated to plenty of drizzle and light winds from the NNE on Friday; a cloudy, cold nor’easter on Saturday that died out completely; and lots of rain, drizzle, mist with a moderate southeast breeze dying off to practically nothing on Sunday. Nevertheless, the awful weather did nothing to diminish the competitive instincts on the water and the camaraderie onshore. The Annapolis YC did a wonderful job hosting all the social shoreside activities at the Annex and on the water, with help from volunteers at Eastport YC and Severn Sailing Association; the team provided great sailing despite the nasty conditions.
The popular event attracted teams from Chicago to Maine and upstate New York to Florida. 146 of them (75% of the total fleet!) were spread throughout eight classes- J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/30s, J/35s, J/105s, J/111s and also a number of PHRF teams (J/109s, J/42, J/110, J/29).
Terry Flynn, champion of the highly-competitive J/22 class, was declared overall winner of the regatta. The Quantum Sails pro received an all-expenses paid trip to the British Virginia Islands to compete in the Helly Hansen NOOD Regattas Championship. "It feels great! We are very pleased," Flynn said after earning the overall victory at the Annapolis NOOD for the second time.
Flynn first won four years ago after winning the J/80 class, but could not make the trip to the BVI due to a conflict. The League City, Texas resident hopes to make it this time after winning two of six races to top the 25-boat J/22 class by seven points over Jeff Todd and the HOT TODDY team.
"We were fairly quick in the big breeze today," said Flynn, who posted finishes of second and third on Sunday. Kevin Kenny trimmed the jib while Jesse Fullmer worked the bow for Flynn, who grew up in Eastport and graduated from Annapolis High in 1973. "I'd have to say we got a little lucky. I was over early in the fourth race and we somehow managed to come back and get an eighth," he said.Behind Flynn and Todd was Brad Julian’s USA 677 in third with 28 pts, just one pt out of second place! The balance of the top five was Mike Marshall’s BAD NEWS in 4th and Chris Junge’s CORNER OF SANITY & MADNESS in 5th.
Arnold resident Geoff Becker led from start to finish in winning J/70 class, easily the largest of the regatta with 43 boats. Becker steered PAPA WHEELIE to first place finishes in races 1 and 2 then held off a strong charge by Brazilian skipper Mauricio Santa Cruz. Both teams tied on points at 35 each, with Becker winning the tie-break based on most 1sts. "It was important to pay close attention to the conditions, especially in the light air on Friday and Saturday," Becker said. "The current was fairly significant and switched around to different sides of the course quite a bit."
Becker has enjoyed considerable success in J/70 class as tactician for longtime friend Tim Healy, but only recently began skippering his own entry. Parker Mitchell trimmed the jib and called tactics while Monica Morgan handled the foredeck. Josh Becker, 14, crewed for his father and gave him passing grades for driving the boat. "He's a great skipper. He drives pretty straight most of the time," said Josh, an eighth grader at Magothy River Middle School. "Sometimes he focuses too much on what the crew is doing."Third in the J/70s was Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport, RI with 43 pts, fourth place was John Brim’s RIMETTE sailing with Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Steph Roble (note, they were winning the regatta going into the last day!), and fifth place was Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD sailing with the famous “Moose” McClintock as tactician (read the “Legend of Moose” in the community section below).
The J/70 Corinthians Division was won by Peter McChesney’s TROUBLE, followed by Robert Sweet’s VITESSE in second, Todd Hiller’s LEADING EDGE in third, Jenn & Ray Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY fourth and Steiner/VIckers’ GNIXE in fifth.
Severna Park skipper John White put forth a dominant performance in J/80 class, which drew 22 boats. White won three races and placed second in two others in totaling 12 points, 15 better than runner-up David Andril aboard VAYU. "I have great people on the boat and they make me look good," White said. "It was one of those regattas when everything seemed to be working well." North Sails pro Jonathan Bartlett served as tactician while Debbie Gosselin trimmed the headsails. Kevin White worked the bow for his father. The rest of the top five saw Chris & Liz Chadwick’s CHURCH KEY take the bronze, with Les Beckwith’s FKA fourth and Vince Kalish’s WHITE LIGHTNIN fifth.Eastport Yacht Club member Pete Kassal won the J/24 class in the Annapolis NOOD for the first time after placing second several times. Allyson Nelson provided tactical advice aboard SPACEMAN SPIFF, which won two of three races to close the regatta to edge RUSH HOUR (Pat FitzGerald) by a point. "We had really good crew work, so I was able to focus solely on steering the boat," said Kassal, who also sailed with Bill Smith (jib), Greg Singer (middle) and Duy Huynh. "We were able to get clear air and connect the dots. Overall, we sailed very consistently."
FitzGerald steered RUSH HOUR to victory in the first race on Sunday, pulling into a tie on points with Kassal. That set up a match race scenario in the regatta finale with SPACEMAN SPIFF covering RUSH HOUR from start to finish and getting the gun to clinch the regatta. Behind this duel for the top of the podium was Peter Rich’s BUXTON in third place.
Another dominating Napolitan effort came in the venerable J/35 class, where co-owners James Sagerholm and Jerry Christofel led AUNT JEAN to its 12th victory at the Annapolis NOOD, winning 5 of 7 races! Deb Sagerholm and Joanne Christofel took care of the middle and pit for their husbands. Tim Mangus called tactics while Doug Smith and Mike Udell completed the crew. "Our crew work is just fantastic. We put ourselves in a lot of spots when we needed," said Jim Sagerholm, who drives the boat. "We come out of the corners much faster than the competition." The rest of the podium was involved in a pitched battle for the podium all weekend. In the end, it was Bruce Artman’s T_BONE that took 2nd place by one pt over Chuck Kohlerman’s MEDICINE MAN.
Yet another local champion was Martin Roesch’s VELOCITY of Ellicott City in the J/111 class, collecting four bullets along the was to just eke out a one pt win over Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE team from San Diego, CA. Taking third was David McCreight’s DARKHORSE by one pt over Doug Curtiss’ WICKED 2.0. Completing the top five was Jim Connelly’s SLUSH FUND.
Proving that local knowledge is beneficial on the Bay was another local, Jim Konigsberg’s INIGO of Fairfax, Virginia in the nineteen boat J/105 class, posting nearly all top five finishes to win class by five pts. Past Annapolis NOOD winner, Scott & Carl Gitchell, sailed TENACIOUS to all top five finishes in the last three races to dramatically close the gap and secure second overall. The Bermudian team on Jim Macdonald’s DISTANT PASSION sailed consistently to grab their first silverware ever in the event! After peeling off a stunning 3-1-1 in the last three races, Don Santa’s SANTAS REIGN-DEAR leapt into fourth place while Hugh Bethell’s JESTER won the first race and coasted home fifth overall.Continuing the “local knows best” theme, brothers-in-law Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello’s BEPOP of Chevy Chase took the win in the J/30 class. An unfortunate OCS in the second race may have cost INFECTIOUS SMILE (Tristan & Sheila Keen) the class win, finishing just two pts back after seven races. George Stewart’s CANNONBALL 2.0 snared the bronze, while Ron Anderson’s INSATIABLE took 4th and Charles Lutz’s POGO claimed 5th place.
In the five boat PHRF 50-75 division, it was the familiar team aboard the J/109 RUSH that eclipsed the fleet. Led by their skipper Bill Sweetser, they closed the regatta with three 1sts and three 2nds to win by the comfortable margin of 5 pts. Another J/109, Rick Hanson’s ROSALITA took third in class. Sailing photo credit- Paul Todd/ Outside Images. For more Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta sailing information
J/133 PINTIA Dominates RORC Cervantes Race!(Le Havre, France)- The 133nm Cervantes Trophy Race is traditionally the first English Channel Race of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Season's Points Championship and this year's race from Cowes to Le Havre attracted a variety of yachts from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The majority of the teams are passionate Corinthians, but make no mistake, the RORC Season's Points Championship is arguably the toughest offshore series of races in the world.
After a stunning performance over the Bank Holiday weekend, local Le Havre boat PINTIA was declared overall winner of the Cervantes Trophy Race. The French J/133, racing in IRC Two, was skippered by Gilles Fournier and crewed by the creator of the Louis Vuitton Cup, Bruno Trouble and past Commodore of the Société des Régates du Havre, Corraine Migraine.
PINTIA’s big win was set up right from the start when the French team chose the north shore of the Solent and led overall into the English Channel. Squally conditions prevailed south of the Isle of Wight with several yachts damaging sails in the 30-knot gusts. Lighter conditions prevailed for the majority of the fleet as they crossed the English Channel but PINTIA managed to stay in good breeze to claim overall victory. Notably, PINTIA was second overall last year, surely evidence this crew has this particular race “wired for sound”! PINTIA’s owner was delighted with their win.
"Corraine Migraine is my daughter and Bruno Trouble is my very old friend, we sailed 505s in the 60s, Quarter Tonners in the 70s and Admiral's Cups in the 80s, so we have a good understanding in the team. At the start, we had the current with us and although we had to sail more miles, we were first overall at No Man's Land Fort, to the south the current was against the boats that went that way, so that was very good for us, very valuable. When we left the Solent, we did not have much wind, which was expected! But, then the wind picked up again after Bembridge Ledge and we tacked very close to the shore up to St. Catherine's Point. We had a big squall and tacked at the right moment. For the Channel crossing and finish at Le Havre, we managed to stay in 10 knots of wind all the way, while the wind died behind us. We are very happy to win in our home port!” They should be jumping for joy- they won by 1 hr 18 min!!
In the IRC Two-handed Division, Nick Martin’s J/105 DIABLO-J continues there steady performance that often ends up giving them the class win, taking fifth place in class, 6th in IRC 3, and 16th overall for their initial outing for the RORC offshore season.
The RORC Season's Points Championship continues with the North Sea Race, which is weighted at 1.2 for the championship. The North Sea Race is scheduled to start on Friday May 6th from Harwich bound for Scheveningen; approximate race length is 180 nautical miles across the North Sea. For more RORC Cervantes Trophy sailing information
J/35 RIVAL Crowned Overall Yachting Cup Champion!(San Diego, CA)- San Diego Yacht Club’s signature spring regatta, the Yachting Cup, was sailed for the 44th time April 29- May 1. There were eighty-eight boats participating, with thirty-three J/Teams (38% of the fleet) that sailed in offshore PHRF handicap and in four one-design classes (J/70, J/80, J/105 and J/120).
The highlight of the regatta for one J/crew was the result of a clean sweep of all three races on the final day of racing Sunday. RIVAL, a J/35 in Division C skippered by David Boatner, was declared the Overall Champion of the regatta after he eclipsed Dennis Conner’s MENACE XVII! Here is how it all went down for the three days of racing.On the first day of racing Saturday for all J/classes, the Race Committee fit in 4 races on Courses A and B, but only 3 races on Course C due to shifty winds and 4-5 foot swells. The beginning of the day looked bleak when competitors woke up to an uncommonly rainy San Diego morning. However, the day cleared up and the sun managed to greet the racers for the 11:30am starts. All three courses experienced similar but slightly different weather patterns.
Commented one sailor about Course C, “the winds were between 10-13 knots out of the South, which was strange. The waves were atrocious and Race Committee had to postpone the first start twice.”
Victor Diaz De Leon, aboard Jeff Janov’s J/70 MINOR THREAT and part of the winning crew in the 2015 J/70 North American Championship, commented on the conditions on Course A: “The wind made it difficult because the typical San Diego rules didn’t apply. It was pressure on both sides that made it really tricky. It was still a fun day to sail. The competition within the J/70 fleet was really close with different wins for different boats.”After a spirited Cinco de Mayo Party on Saturday night, the crews woke up to a much different day on Sunday. After a tiring, bumpy day on Saturday, many competitors were relieved that Sunday’s races were back to familiar conditions. On all three courses, most competitors looked less stressed and pleased to see smoother seas.
“Sunday was much nicer than Saturday,” confirmed Joanne O’Dea on the J/105 VIGGEN, which took fourth place in the J/105 class. “The breeze was perfect and steady at 220-225 on Course A for Sunday’s three races. Our crew had not all sailed together since the New Year’s Day Race and it was so nice to be with them this weekend and get back into a groove. Our roundings were perfect, the mechanics on the boat were great and though our starts were shy at first, they steadily improved each race.”Sunday’s winds were slower to accelerate, starting at around 5 knots at 220. Luckily, they picked up to about 10 knots with gusts at 12 by the start of the second races. The wind was consistently shifting right all day, so many San Diego sailors were thankful to be back in their everyday conditions.
The J/105 class saw a repeat winner, Rick Goebel’s SANITY counted all top three races enroute to a very closely fought two pt lead. Second place was determined by a tie-breaker between two other championship J/105 teams, with Dennis Case’s WINGS taking that match-up over the Hurlburt/ Driscoll crew on the bright-orange JUICED. Fourth was Dag Fish’s VIGGEN and fifth was Scott McDaniel’s OFF THE PORCH.Winner of the J/70 fleet was a family affair with Shawn Bennett and Ullman Sails Newport Beach loft owner Bruce Cooper taking first in class with their sons Conner (12) and Morgan (16). However, their win did not come easy, even after closing the last two races with two bullets. Just one point back, tied at 14 pts each, were Jeff Janov’s MINOR THREAT and Chris Raab’s SUGOI, the tie-break going to Janov’s team. Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR won a race and counted all top five finishes to place 4th. In fifth place was Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU.
Continuing their amazing combination of speed and smarts was John Laun’s crew on CAPER, counting just 1sts and 2nds to win the J/120 Class by a comfortable margin. Hoping to slow them down and catch CAPER after winning two races in a row was Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER. But, a last race bomber cost them their bid for the top of the podium, settling for the silver. After starting off strong and tied for the lead after the first two races, a 1-2 tally, John Snook’s gang on JIM just could not get it consistently together for the balance of the series and had to hang on for third position.
In the world of PHRF handicap, the J/125s were at it again. Tim Fuller’s J/125 RESOLUTE took first place in Division A despite being down two crew members on Sunday. “We were neck and neck with Rock & Roll this whole weekend,” explained crew member Patrick Murray on RESOLUTE. “But our fast boat speed and good starts helped us overcome the fact that we didn’t have our full crew. We were able to pull off a win and that really solidified the whole regatta experience for us.” After starting the regatta in 2nd place after the first two races, Mark Surber’s J/125 team on DERIVATIVE faded down into fourth overall.The big winner on Sunday was David Boatner’s J/35 RIVAL in Division C. On Saturday, Dennis Conner’s MENACE XVII took three bullets to easily lead their division, for the time being. However, it was RIVAL’s turn on Sunday, matching Conner’s triple bullets and taking both the class win by a point and being declared the Yachting Cup overall regatta champion- not bad for a nearly 30 year old boat! No question, the infamous “DC” was not happy being beaten by a JBoat!
After Sunday’s races, competitors gathered on the Sail Wash Lawn for the award ceremony where Commodore Doug Werner and Regatta Chair Julie Servais presented awards. “For many reasons, Yachting Cup is one of my favorite regattas at the club,” expressed Werner. “It has a great liveliness which wouldn’t be possible without our incredible regatta chair, Julie Servais. I’d also like to thank the Race Committee, Protest Committee, SDYC staff, all the competitors and our event sponsors. The success of Yachting Cup is truly a team effort.” Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ JOY Sailing.com For more SDYC Yachting Cup sailing information
German J/70 Sailing League Act I- NRV Again!(Starnberg, Germany)- The Munich YC just hosted the first event of the German Sailing League 2016 season on beautiful Starnberger Lake. The North is dominating the League already! In total, 36 clubs sailed 78 exciting races, with many race outcomes determined by less than a meter- such is the level of racing at the premiere level in Germany! Despite the light sailing conditions all weekend long, the spectacular vistas south across the lake to the massive snow-capped mountains of the Austrian Alps was a sight to behold (only 15 miles away)!
It was indeed a walkover for the two-time German Sailing League masters, the NRV (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein). The sailors from Hamburg were dominating the kick-off event at Starnberg, leaving the competitors clearly behind. “It is unbelievable to have won the first event with my team. We are more than content with this victory. The conditions today have been a bit more difficult at the beginning, but with the continuous performance of the last days we could keep the lead. We are very happy,” said the happy helmsman, Tobias Schadewaldt. With his crew of Florian Spalteholtz, Niklas von Meyerinck and Florian Weser, the sailors from the North rocked it on Starnberger Lake! After thirteen races, they had five 1sts and three 2nds in their scoreline to easily win by five points.
As the reigning Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga champions, the Deutscher Touring YC, also had a strong performance for their first event. The team from Tutzing finished second and, in fact, was tied for first with NRV after five races, each with four 1sts and one 2nd! After that blistering pace, the DTYC crew faded a bit in the middle part of the series, but preserved their second place.Sailing dramatically better and faster was the Lindauer Segler-Club, posting two 1sts and a number of 2nds and 3rds to win a tie-breaker on 40 pts each with Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee. Fifth for the regatta was the Wurttembergischer YC with 43 pts. In short, the entire top five was all Northern teams. The first “southern” team was the host- Munich YC in seventh!
The North also dominated the top rankings in the 2nd Sailing League. The Muhlenberg Sailing Club had a brilliant kick-off; the sailors from Hamburg are stronger than ever and finished 1st in Starnberg. Second-place was Hamburg Sailing Club, followed by the Potsdam Yacht Club in third.
In less than four weeks time (27th to 29th of May), the next event is scheduled on Lake Constance for both League I & II. Sailing photo credits- Sven Jurgensen. Follow the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga on Facebook here The SAP SAILING Analytics Tracking and standings can be found here. For more Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information
J/111 JOUST Tops Super 11’s State Title(Melbourne, Australia)- Rod Warren’s J/111 JOUST performed well at the recent state titles for the newly formed Super 11 group, which includes a Melges 32, Reichel-Pugh 36, McConaghy 31's and other light weight flyers.
After giving up 10 minutes in the 20 mile passage race by missing a mark and being forced to drop the kite and beat back to be in last position (never a good look) JOUST chewed up the fleet of nine to still win on corrected time! Proving you should never give up.
The following day two windward leewards were run in light breezes favoring the lighter boats. A second and third secured Second place in AMS Class and equal First in PHRF Class scoring. The J/111 was not expected to perform in this company but once again this great boat proved its versatility and speed! Thanks for the report from Yachtspot.
AYC Spring Blast Report(Rye, New York)- Teams that participate in the American Yacht Club Spring Series are known to be diehard sailors. In the New York tri-state area, Spring Series is the first event of the year. Teams often struggle to get boats in the water, crews organized and practice hours clocked in the first days of April. The boats that show for the four-day, two-weekend event are not wallflowers – they come prepared and expect to win.
The weather ran across a wind range of 5 to 25 knots and sunny to cold, wet and rainy conditions. PHRF 2 Division was deep in J/Boats including three J/88’s, two J/29’s, one J/80. The fleet was exceptionally strong including teams fresh of wins at Key West and Charleston Race week. For many of the races, the top five finishes were separated by less than sixty seconds.
In the end, Iris Vogel’s J/88 DEVIATION prevailed through amazingly consistent finishes. Kevin Mark’s J/88 VELOCITY, with four first place scores came in second. The one and only collection of “madmen” in the fleet, all aboard John & Tony Esposito’s J/29 HUSTLER, came in hot with third place and close on their heels was Mike Bruno’s J/88 WINGS and yet another fast J/29- Tom and Julie Sinatra’s J/29 SMOKIN J. Fun games were had by all, according to all who witnessed the proceedings. It may also mark the first time, in a thousand years, the Esposito’s did not win their class. A harbinger of things to come? That is the way it was in PHRF handicap world on Long Island Sound.
Hopping over to one-design world, it was tough sledding everywhere you cared to look. Many good performances, some dominating, some complete nail-biters ridden with anxiety to the very last 100 yards of the last race.
The “big boys” sailing J/44s had a full-on duel taking place over the two weekends of racing between Jeff Willis’ CHALLENGE IV and Bill Ketcham’s MAXINE. After the dust cleared in the ring, it was Willis over Ketcham by 5 pts. Taking third in class was Len Sitar’s VAMP.
Sporting an impressive ten boats on the line, the J/109s were anticipating another season of tight racing. However, no one seemed to inform David Rosow’s team on LOKI that you’re not supposed to smoke the fleet with five 1sts and three 2nds on their way to a numbingly low number of just 9 pts in eight races! Uhhh. So, as the Queen once asked, “who was second”?? That would be an exciting story, actually. While LOKI simply sailed herself off into another cosmos, MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN (Adrian Begley), EMOTICON (Jon Rechtshaffer) & ZUMA (Steve Chronert) and MORNING GLORY (Carl Olsson) all had a real “chutes & ladders” experience battling one another for the balance of the top five. Just 10 pts separated all of them at the end of the series. Ultimately, Begley’s MAD DOGS grabbed 2nd with 22 pts, followed by EMOTICON in 3rd, ZUMA 4th and Olsson’s crew in 5th.
With eleven boats sailing, the J/105 class continues to enjoy good one-design racing on western Long Island Sound. Paul Beaudin’s LOULOU won the class by sheer consistency, tossing just a 6th place to win with 20 pts. Sailing one of their best series in memory was the Harald Edegran/ Jeremy Henderson team on CONUNRUM, taking 2nd just 4 pts back. Third only two pts further in arrears was another “best of” performance by Randy Bourne’s STRANGE BREW. Fourth was George & Ale Wilbanks’ REVELATION and 5th was the extraordinary AYC YOUNG AMERICAN JUNIOR BIG BOAT TEAM on their J/105 YOUNG AMERICAN!
By far the biggest fleet in the regatta was the J/70 class with seventeen boats entered in the two-weekend event. The racing was close and there was no question some new faces in the crowd proved that no one was going to be a push-over in this class! After nine races, there was nearly a different winner for every single race! Ultimately, winning was a relative newcomer to the class, Allan Stern & Bill Walker’s VICTURA with 27 pts total in 8 races counted- a 3.4 average. Taking second by a whisker was Daan Goedkoop’s LOCOMOTION with 32 pts, followed by Trevor Roach’s SEMI-CHARMED in third with 34 pts. Rounding out the top five was Carrie & Ed Austin’s CHINOOK in 4th and Mike Zupon’s LOKI in 5th place. Notably, coming out of “retirement” for the last weekend was Molly Baxter (pregnant at 5+ months)! Her performance on the Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES was good enough to win the weekend in the 70’s, closing with a 1st!! Good on ya Molly 1.5! Sailing photo credit- Paul Todd/ Outside Images.com. For more American YC Spring Series sailing information
J/122 EL OCASO Crushes Antigua Sailing WeekJ/11S SLEEPER Cruises CSA Racing 4
(English Harbour, Antigua)- Yet another wonderfully laid back, but hotly contested Antigua Sailing Week is in the record books. An event noted for its eclectic atmosphere, amazing social calendar on-shore with fantastic musical acts and “partaaays”, and simply off-the-charts amazing sailing conditions just about every day. Remember, the secret in the Caribbean for having the most breeze, the most consistently, is to sail as late in the season as possible- that’s when the heavy trade winds start to build in April/ May and when board sailors/ kite surfers migrate down to the Caribbean to their favorite “hot spots” for steady 15-25 kts days, every day!
One of those teams that enjoyed the 2016 weather was Jonty Layfield’s J/11S SLEEPER. As they slowly wind-up their new-found toy to go faster and faster, they are proving to their colleagues that it can go just as fast with an equally eclectic crew! Her is Layfield’s description of his Antigua Sailing Week crew this year:
“We are starting sailing week, first race today with a scratch crew of all sorts of people, all with little or no race experience. Most are mainly picked up from around the bars and local schools. We have 4 young Antiguan's, Shannoy, 8, Morrison, 14, Joshua 16 and Vincent just 16 (he is a learning the bow and is doing a great job), a Spanish lady, a French guy (who is cruising around the world), a Bulgarian who speaks very little English, a young girl called Emma, Mario (Antiguan local), who has just started sailing, Vic and me! Crazy? Perhaps. I think it will be an interesting week!” As you will learn, shortly, the rest of the world was probably crazier by half!
Day 1Hundreds of spectators watched the start of racing for Antigua Sailing Week from the Shirley Heights Breakfast Party and from the Half Moon Bay spectator boats, but none of them got as good a view as the curious whale that lined up in the pre-start area with the racing fleet. Warm air, 14 knots of breeze and a moderate sea state provided glorious conditions for the first day of racing sponsored by English Harbour 5 Year Old Rum. Three of the seven classes racing under the CSA Rule were just as hot as the weather, with seconds deciding the winners.
Jonty Layfield racing Antiguan J/11S SLEEPER corrected out to win Race 1 in CSA 4 by just 11 seconds from Jim Hightower’s Texan King 40, Hot Ticket.
In CSA 5, British yachts filled the podium for the first race of the day. Chris Body’s team racing the J/122 EL OCASO corrected out to win CSA 4 by just 36 seconds from Sir Richard Matthews’ Grand Soleil 43, Team Oystercatcher– Quokka. EL OCASO won the second race of the day by a healthy margin. Pamala Baldwin’s J/122 LIQUID from Antigua Yacht Club broke through the British dominance with a second in the last race by just 13 seconds from Team Oystercatcher– Quokka. EL OCASO’s perfect score had the team leading the class, with Baldwin’s LIQUID ending the day in third place.
“The highlight today was three minutes to the first start, a huge whale longer than the boat, pops up just ten feet from the boat. As we were heading for the start, we didn’t have a camera on deck but it must have been at least 50ft. You don’t see that in the Solent,” said Chris Body of EL OCASO. “It must have been an omen because we went on to win both races. We had to pull all the stops out today and I have to say it was a memorable day, especially as we were sailing with four family members.”
As the sun set on the first day of racing, Antiguan ‘swunk’ (Swing-Funk) band, The Sound Citizens, fired up their guitars, drums, organ, saxophone and anything else within reach. The band delivered a high energy stage show that lit the blue touch paper and the party went on into the evening. There will be a few sore bodies going out for the second day of racing for the 49th edition of Antigua Sailing Week.
Race Day 2The CSA Racing division enjoyed spectacular windward leeward courses on the south coast of Antigua for the third day of Antigua Sailing Week. The rush to gain the upwind advantage from lifting pressure along the rocky shoreline caused some spectacular pin end punch-ups. Rock hopping upwind past the iconic Pillars of Hercules, the fleet enjoyed classic Antigua Sailing Week racing. The flurry of spinnakers returning to the start area was testing for the crews and the gusty conditions with occasional surfing waves was the key to gaining top placed finishes.
Chris Body’s J/122 EL OCASO was undefeated after three days of racing.
It was the big party night at Antigua Sailing Week and Jamaican roots reggae sensation Luciano was the headline act on the main stage in Nelson’s Dockyard. The Johnnie Walker Your World & Mine Concert also featured home-grown Antiguan talent: Soca Diva, Claudette Peters and R&B and Soca star Tian Winter with Cheeze Kake Factory and M&M Music.
Wednesday, 27 April was the famous Presidente Lay Day Beach Party. With no formal racing the next day, thousands of Antiguans, sailors and visitors partied long into the night.
Race Day 3Antigua Sailing Week burst back into action after Presidente Lay Day with some terrific rock and roll action off the South Coast of Antigua. The trade winds were back with 16 knots from the southeast, piping up to full-on foam up in 20-knot gusts. Brilliant blue skies with warm Caribbean water and a two-meter swell; these are the conditions that any sailor wants to experience and over a 1,000 salt encrusted yachties were grinning from ear-to-ear after a wicked day of racing.
Chris Body’s J/122 EL OCASO lost their winning streak in CSA 5, placing fifth and third in today’s races. Clearly, the El Presidente Lay Day got to this crew, still suffering from post-rum depression! As a result, EL OCASO needed a top four finish on the last day to be sure of winning CSA 5.
The action in CSA 4 was red hot, with just four points separating the top four teams. Jim Hightower’s Texan King 40, Hot Ticket found it tough going against the lighter displacement yachts in the class today, resulting in two fourth places. In fourth place for the class is Jonty Layfield’s Antiguan J11s SLEEPER, which was top boat of the class for the day with a win and a second. SLEEPER was just four points off the lead after that performance
Race Day 4Classic trade wind conditions prevailed for the final day of Antigua Sailing Week, serving up one last helping of awesome yacht racing. 15 knots from the southeast with a significant sea state delivered challenging conditions for the yachts. Going into the last day, the winners of many of the 11 classes were still in the balance, and for those teams that had already guaranteed class victory; there were other prizes to win. Nineteen teams were competing for the Royal Southern Yacht Club Inter-Yacht Club Challenge and there were many other awards still to be decided, including the big one – the winner of the Lord Nelson Trophy.
Winning CSA 5 was the J/122 EL OCASO, a former Lord Nelson Trophy winner at Antigua Sailing Week that was chartered to Chris Body who raced with his wife Caroline and their two daughters, plus friends from the UK.
“It has been a fantastic time. Caroline and I came to Antigua 25 years ago and we decided it was time to come back with our daughters and experience Antigua Sailing Week for the first time, and it has been absolutely marvelous. The morale of the crew has been a big part of that. We thought towards the end of the week that we might have a chance of the overall win, but to win our class is what we came here to do. All credit to Sir Richard Matthews and his crew on Team Oystercatcher – Quokka as we had to sail really hard to get the class win and the results don’t show how hard that was,” said Chris Body.
Jonty Layfield’s J/11S SLEEPER had easily the best record in their class for the last five races, but it was not enough to overcome their twin 6th place finishes in races 4 & 5 to win class. Instead, they still finished “in the chocolates” and took a hard-earned 3rd place in CSA Racing 4 class against a rogue’s gallery of full-on racing boats like a King 40, Ker 37, Melges 32, Stimson 42 and Pogo 50.
In CSA Racing 7 class, it was an excellent showing by Remco van Dortmondt’s J/35 SUNBELT REALTY- DASH to win their last race and take third overall in class! Classmate MICRON 99- OSSENFEFFER, a J/39 sailed by famous local Robbie Ferron, was a class leader until they had to retire for the last three races. Despite their “no show” in those races, they still managed a 6th overall. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ PWPictures.com. For more Antigua Sailing Week sailing information
NAUTICA WATCHES Win J/80 Trofeo Nautica Watches(Barcelona, Spain)- Club Nautico de Balis hosted the J/80 Trofeo Nautica Watches over the weekend of April 8th to 9th and, subsequently, over the final weekend of April 23rd and 24th. The event was highlighted by the fact that two former J/80 World Champions were fighting all the time over both weekends to command the overall series lead.
TEAM NAUTICA WATCHES sailed by José Maria van der Ploeg was awarded the Gold Trophy Nautica Watches - Great Sailing V. Runner-up was Marc de Antonio’s BRIBON-MOVISTAR. Taking third, in a repeat performance from last year, was MIKAKU sailed by Louis Corbella. DECKMETAL sailed by Josef Maria Pujo finished in fourth.
The unstable wind Saturday, April 23, forced the organizers to cancel racing for the day. Instead, the final day of competition, Sunday April 24, provided good racing under a southerly breeze between 7 and 9 kts wind.The awards ceremony, held that afternoon, was attended by the President of Club Nautico El Balis, Jordi Pares, who was the club’s representative for the Spanish Sailing Federation and responsible for Marketing d'Eurocrono, Roser Comallonga.
Nautica Watches, the American watch brand with aquatic and nautical inspiration, was given to the top three finishers. In addition, Gaastra clothing was also given away to the winners of the Trophy. CN EL Balis Facebook For more J/80 Spain sailing information
PACEMAKER Trumps J/24 Vic States!(Melbourne, Australia)- True to recent form, the real regatta results centered around who would come second. Sad really, but the Black Prince is supreme, almost untouchable. I say ‘almost’ because he is, “Mr J/24”. Hugo Ottaway creamed one off him and ‘Stompin’ John Neville almost did.
In the challenging lighter conditions National Champion ‘Pacemaker’, skippered by David Suda (aka The Black Prince of Sandringham’), sailed what could be described as his best ever regatta. Despite an uncharacteristically larger number of average to poor starts, the Prince silently slipped through the fleet to record a perfect score after the drop. Many thought it would be game over from a position like that however, with great boat speed and excellent tactics it didn’t seem to matter. “Did you see him go past?”, asks my crew, “no, must have gone the other way up or down”, “which way was that?” they ask, “well not the way we went, that’s for sure”. We had a bad regatta.
So who did come second. Well he isn’t a J sailor, none of the crew are J sailors, but they are all bloody good, 49er and top dinghy sailors. Michah Shuwalow is the SYC club coach – seems he knows his stuff. Simon lent his spare boat ‘Make My Jay’ to get him on the water and told him to sail it like a dinghy– looks like that worked ! MMJ might be worth just that little bit more – better rewrite the ad !And third, collecting the bronze medallions was a resurging Hugo Ottaway ‘Mr 24’, consistent across the regatta and absolutely blitzing Dave in race 3, could have made the Prince’s’ pedestal a bit wobbly right there Hugo.
This year’s 2016 Monjon Victorian State title saw 20 entries including two from South Australia and two from New South Wales. The depth of talent included past national champions and multiple runners up all vying for a top finish. In true J 24 spirit the regatta began with many boats not passing the maximum crew weight of 400 kgs, (the Jet crew lost 10kg in the last week before) of particular amusement was Brendan Lee running up and down Beach Road wrapped in a plastic garbage bag.
Day one and I was somewhat alarmed to see the measurer (Mr J24) walking down the marina armed with a pair of bolt cutters and blatantly cutting the life lines off an offending yacht– not as alarmed as the owner! However, it was quickly fixed and then ready to sail, despite the concerns of the owner.
The weather range was from 0 to 15 knots with direction the full 360 degrees, fortunately this settled; however there was no consistent patterns making it a fresh challenge every race. With lighter winds, some awkward slop at times and an often tight 20 boat fleet, clear lanes were not easily found, so back in the pack quickly meant further back.
This year we saw new faces in the front pack with Micah Shallow second overall and Stephen Byrne in ‘Code Violation’ scoring a 2 & 4 in the last two heats. The race for the minor places was tight with one point between second and third and three points between fourth and sixth. Of special note was the performance of ‘Stompin’ John Neville and crew on Vice Versa, finishing 5th, who made a rush just to get to the start line after repairs from a major collision several weeks prior. They were a regular appearance at the front of the pack only losing one race to Suda on the line. John has become a class stalwart in Melbourne, always with a quip and a smile and soon to take on the running of the Vic Assn from ‘Wee Dougie’ who has done an immense and amazing job of running the association for the past 3 years. We will miss the briefing and presentation speeches from Doug. But, as you all know, ‘Stompin’ John has his own brand of humor and presentation. Never a dull moment in Melbourne!Who could have imagined a couple of hours waiting for wind on Sunday morning at the ‘Balmy Regatta’. Don’t know who started it but we have a new light weather sport – ‘Boat Ball’. With all the boats milling around a small ball is being thrown from boat to boat, some catch it and some don’t, which means a boat scramble to pick it up. Hours of aimless fun in the sun with many dipping into their attitude adjuster supplies – well what the hell, we may not even get to race. But we did.
A light SW came in and we got away to two smooth water races in the sun and warm conditions – purrfect sailing. Even yours truly put in a better one. He who chose to win banged off another two bullets, visiting ‘Other Dougie’ on the three legged donkey ‘El Fideldo’ and Dave ‘Westie’ West sailing local boat ‘Fly Away Jay’ cemented their 4th and 7th positions. Thanks for coming guys- always a better regatta with you here. Brendan Lee was in there at 6th after having just weighed in finally.
Back in the pack the normal fun loving, hard sailing J crews battled it out, better in some races and down in others – there have to be lots of stories that I don’t know about, I think there was a man overboard somewhere and I know there was plenty of mark yelling at times. Ron beat Janette on points, but Janette won the Thommo Cup – not sure how that one worked out, maybe it was done on PHS this time. Warren Campbell on ‘J Force’ was suddenly fast, blitzing the starts, seems he discovered a huge amount of ‘long time’ water in his forward buoyancy tanks – goes better without it. Nothing wrong with the boat now!There’s the usual people who get in the same people’s way – you know who you are – there’s the little races within a race actions, the fight for second last place, the younger crews on youth boats and the older guys hanging in there. Once again the women sailing in our fleet is running at about 40% (a much prettier fleet than some), we have female skippers and crews with incredible talent enjoying competitive racing in the J24 fleet. Eat your heart out skinny boat class !
Massive thanks to the sponsor MONJON, SYC race officials who only flew one Black Flag and the interstate competitors who travel thousands of kilometres to make our regatta, of national standard. Thanks also to Luis Ferreiro for taking the most amazing pics out of a less than visually exciting regatta. I will be doing another article featuring more pics from Luis. To see his pics go to www.sportsnap.com.au
Here’s the final tally for the Victorian Stats Title: 1st Pacemaker (David Suda), 2nd Make My Jay (Michah Shuwalow), 3rd Bruschetta VI (Hugo Ottaway).
Handicap winners: 1st Vice Versa (‘Stompin’ John Neville), 2nd Code Violation (Stephen Byrne), 3rd Gridlock (Simon Pickett). Thanks, as always, for this contribution from Simon Grain and Hugo Ottaway! For more J/24 Vic States Regatta sailing information
LA SUPERBA Superb- Italian J/24 Circuit- Livorno- Act II(Livorno, Italy)- Act II of the Italian J/24 National Circuit was organized as part of the City of Livorno Sailing Week, in collaboration with the Sailing Section of the Italian Naval Academy. The regatta took place from April 22nd to 25th.
Not terribly surprising was that hometown boys from the Italian Naval Academy won- Ignazio Bonanno’s crew on LA SUPERBA (Simone Tarjeta, Picaro Francesco, Vincenzo and Francesco Linares), winning four races enroute to a dominating win over their hapless colleagues. It sure pays to know the local waters!
Second was JAMAICA skippered by the President of the Italian J/24 Class, Pietro Diamanti sailing with crew of Giuseppe Diamanti, Fabrizio Ginesi, Giuseppe Garofalo and Paul Ruleto. Third was Team VALHALLA HOTEL VERONA skippered by Fabio De Rossi with crew of Enrico Perbellini, Carlo Tomelleri, David Davì and Ivan Venturi.
After the stalemate of the first day, marked by the strong weather pattern that swept across the coast (heavy rain, strong wind and wave on the beam made it impossible to leave from the Marina San Leopoldo), the next two days provided spectacular sailing for four races.The Race Committee was chaired by Nicholas Cirella, assisted by Ettore Paris and Corrado Guelfi. The awards ceremony took place at La Rotonda Circle within the Naval Academy area.
"We are very pleased to have contributed to the realization of this classic event for the Italian J/24 class,” commented Fabrizio Monacci, President of the LNI Livorno.
During the award ceremony it was stressed with pleasure the growing interest of many young people to the timeless J/24 Class: the young Isaac Lami distributed information for their team- ITA 100 - Junior Under 30 Team from the Club Nautico Cervia (read more on Facebook).
The next stage of the Italian J/24 class will be organized by the Club Nautico Marina di Carrara from Thursday 26 to Sunday May 29 (www.clubnauticomarinadicarrara.com).
Fun Cinco de Mayo Regatta(Santa Barbara, CA)- J/Sailors in Santa Barbara, California know how to have fun. Period. After all, they do live in what is billed as America’s Riviera along that sliver of coastline between the famous Hollywood hangout of Malibu to the east and the US Navy Missile program off Point Conception to the west. While there are not many places to go cruising locally, the locals make the most of their amazing sailing conditions, often punctuated by massive Pacific swells rolling in from the northwest from even more ginormous storms in the Gulf of Alaska and their natural sea-breeze that often develops because of the 2,500 ft mountain range just inshore sucking breeze into the stratosphere over the dramatic backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains. By the way, each day is sunny, 50s overnight and mid-70s in the day— all year-round! Even Oprah approves!
The Santa Barbara Sailing Club hosted the weekend’s Cinco de Mayo sailing festivities and managed to conduct a ten races series for the J/70s and a nine race series for the J/24s.
Winning the J/70s was Scott Deardorff’s CAKE with five 1sts in the scoreboard for a 14 pts net series. That was quite an accomplishment to beat out a former J/24 North American Champion, Pat Toole’s incredibly talented crew on his J/70 THREE BIG DOGS, with 22 pts net. Third was Andrew Nunn’s pretty, shiny black ECLIPSE with 29 pts and three 1st places to their credit! Fourth and fifth, respectively, were taken by Steve Hendricks’ MONKEY HOUSE and Mike Wolfe’s SHARK TOOTH.The J/24s were seeing some fresh blood and activity locally. Winning class was Deke Klatt’s JADED with 9 pts net, a virtual blitzkrieg of the fleet. However, behind him it was a pitched battle for the balance of the top five. Ultimately, sailing better than the rest was Tom Tunberg’s BULLET team, taking 2nd with 21 pts. Third was Jim Baurley’s CRITTER with 24 pts, fourth Ches Upham’s YOUNG FOOLS and fifth Susan Taylor’s TAKE FIVE team from California YC (note- Susan has won the SoCal J/24 Champs and West Coasts in the past, a measure of how good these new young teams are!). Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing. For more Cinco de Mayo Regatta sailing information
HONEYBADGER Blinds J/24 J-Dazers(Canandaigua, NY)- For the twenty-three J/24 sailing teams that consider the annual J/24 J-DAZE Regatta an annual rite of passage to start their spring sailing programs, it has become like a home camping ground to them. A warm and fuzzy place to go sailing and hangout with friends. Pitch the tent. Cook a few “shmores” (ya know, that stuff with graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate, and puffy white Kraft marshmallows cooked over an open fire). Drink a few thousand brewskies and tell at least a few tall tales next to that smokin hot friend of yours, tell a few lies about how ya coulda’shoulda’won’a’regatta type of stuff. Yah. Just the usual. But, in this case, it’s true. Host Canandaigua YC makes everyone, we mean “everyone”, feel at home. OK, trappers of baby rabbits not permitted, but varmints are not off limits, ya know what I mean?
So, sets the tone of the event. Laid back. And, spectacularly beautiful. For those who have not visited the amazing Finger Lakes District in New York, it’s a can’t miss event. Right?? You are missing something on your “bucket list”. Really? Yes, add it in. And, toss that other lake in New York on that same “upstate NY lakes” list- Lake George. Insiders’ knowledge, we can assure you.
As a long-time local of all good things New York, it was “home-boy” Travis Odenbach that took home the honors for this year’s J-DAZE, blistering his fellow J/24 buddies with all bullets to win by a landslide on the amazing HONEYBADGER. Flip Wehrheim, Travis’ colleague from Rochester YC, occupied second place due to his 8 pts tally. First, “small-lakes” team was Tom Doran’s OZ from Oswego YC in third place with 9 pts. Taking fourth was Skylar Munger’s PT BLISTER also from Oswego YC with 12 pts and fifth was a real “foreigner”, a women’s crew from Portland YC in Maine- SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM! Yikes, hide the boys, hide the men! Erica Beck Spenser’s women’s crew of Emily Follett, Jess Harris, Jenny Norton Rosenbauer, and Kim Calnan were ready to scalp any natives in their way! In the end, Erica’s crew sailed well to keep the boys honest with a steady scoreline of 5-5-6 for 16 pts. For more J/24 J-DAZE Regatta sailing information
J/24 Wins ORC/IRC Trofeo Challenger Armatore Costa d’Argento(Porto Santo Stefano, Italy)- J/24s still winning in handicap races? Especially, IRC and ORC in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea? Here’s an amazing report for you to sink your teeth into!
The coveted Trofeo Challenger Armatore Costa d’Argento was won overall by the J/24 AVOLTORE sailed by her owner Massimo Mariotti (member of Circolo Nautico and Vela Argentario). They won the IRC Category and also finished second overall in the ORC ranking after a fierce battle with the Grand Soleil 46 Pierservice Luduan sailed by fellow club member- Enrico de Crescenzo (CNdVA).
"This year, my club with other major Argentario clubs (the Yacht Club Santo Stefano and the Circolo della Vela Talamone) established the Trofeo Challenger Armatore Costa d’Argento which included three offshore races- Caravaggio Trophy race held on 19 and 20 March; Pasquavela held from March 26 to 28 at YCSS; and the Royal Trophy Deans of Spain held from April 9 to 10”, explained Massimo Mariotti.
"The battle, since the first race- the Trophy Caravaggio, was between Pierservice Luduan and Avoltore. While Pierservice Luduan won regularly on elapsed time, Avoltore emerged on several occasions at the top of standings on corrected time. After Pasquavela, Avoltore led the ORC ranking by 0.5 points. So, it was the third, and final, event that would make the difference. The first day of the Royal Trophy Deans of Spain saw Pierservice Luduan beat Avoltore for just 37 seconds on corrected time. Therefore, the two teams were playing for all the marbles in the second and final day.""The first day of the Royal Trophy Deans of Spain was a 20nm race around four offshore buoys, characterized by all possible winds (the sirocco to the mistral) that, for a few hours, blew with great intensity. The crews, in fact, were heavily engaged in a game of tactics to make the most of the winds. At first, fighting in light winds (from the southeast between 5 and 7 knots) and then, after a strong wind shift (towards North-East, gusting to 20 knots), we were forced to maneuver quickly and make rapid sail changes.” Mariotti continued to say, “Sunday, however, the race was about 30 miles from Porto Santo Stefano to Giannutri (the island tour) and arriving in Porto Ercole (basically a downwind run before passing Giannutri, then a beat to Cala Galera).”
“Unfortunately, Avoltore stumbled in the wind shadow of the small isle of Hercules (near the finish) and the end result of the day was less brilliant as could be. Certainly, the race with the larger boats offshore completely changes the tactics of the race and is less strenuous but no less fun than racing between one-designs. Sailing offshore tests true navigation, it’s a bit more relaxed, and you are sailing in the beautiful sea of Argentario. Aboard Avoltore was our crew of Lorenzo Sclano, Alessandro Pucci, Marianna Buzzetti, and myself at the helm. I wish to emphasize that Alexander (about 25 years) and Marianna (about 17 years), who were sailing the J/24 for the first time ever, were absolutely superb! The J/24 has behaved very well with all speeds and on all occasions, impressing opponents (especially, those sailing “big boats”) for its versatility and for the brilliant achievements! Thank you Rod Johnstone, amazing boat, even today!” For Trofeo Challenger Armatore Costa d’Argento sailing informationJ/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* “Moose” McClintock: Honoring a legend that has sailed J/24s and J/70s for decades and has volunteered his services to all kinds of sailors in the local Newport Laser fleet. Thanks for contribution from Joe Berkeley, a long-time sailor and local newspaper reporter.“Moose McClintock was agitated. As the Newport (RI) Laser Fleet’s regular race committee, Moose was told the powerboat his volunteer used to move marks was broken so he would have to make do with a nine-foot inflatable that in his words, “would barely fit a mark in it.” Then smart sailors at the skipper’s meeting were asking stupid questions, like when world champion Peter Shope queried, “Moose, what’s a triangle course?”
But, the big reveal came when fleet co-captain Jack McVicker pulled up behind Moose towing the new rigid bottom inflatable, that was donated to Sail Newport by Laser Fleet 413 and named “Moose” as a tribute to one of Newport’s greatest sailors, mentors, and race committee members.
Moose McClintock knows his way around a racecourse. He has won six J/24 World Championships, three J/24 North American Championships, three J/24 National Championships, a J/22 world championships, a Swan World Championship, and competed in several America’s Cups, and now races J/70s a lot in major competitions with friends. This list goes on and on.
But, if the man with the gruff exterior has a soft spot in his heart for one boat, it is the least expensive and most competitive, the Laser. Moose said, “I’m part of the Laser generation. It’s the greatest boat of all time. I remember the first race of the first Laser world championships in 1974. I rounded the first mark in first place and there were 100 boats behind me.”
Dave Moffet said, “Moose has a sailing record, both professional and amateur, matched by few in the world but on Sunday afternoons in the middle of winter that didn’t matter. What mattered is that as a competitor he was always out there raising the game for the rest of us. Moose now continues to raise our game by running the best RC and pushing us to do one more race when we can no longer feel our hands.”
Stuart Streuli concurred. He said, “Moose was a longtime fleet regular when I started frostbiting more than a decade ago. He was one of the guys that helped define the fleet’s great blend of competitive fire and camaraderie, and he was always willing to help out newer fleet members. When he started sailing less and doing more race committee more (due to a back injury), he brought that same passion to the signal boat and raised the bar for how the fleet runs its races.”
Ed Adams, the two-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and former Laser Master world champion, noted that for many years, Moose was the strongest person he had ever met. He remembers meeting Moose at URI when he was a freshman. He said, “At my first practice at URI, I made the mistake of trying to cut inside Moose at the leeward mark, after he had told me not to try. He reached out with his left hand, grabbed my bow, stood up in his boat, and actually lifted my entire boat into the air, flipping it bow over stern, on top of me. I steered clear of him the rest of my freshman year.”Moose has a passion for sailing. Ken Legler, who was on the URI sailing team with Moose said, “I remember when Moose and his roommate challenged each other to a flaming shots contest one weekday morning. His roommate, all of 150 pounds, passed out but not Moose. My roommate, Jay, and I tried to get to practice without him but he lied down on the hood of the car so we had no choice. He rigged and launched his Beverly Dinghy, immediately half swamped it, and pin balled off every moored boat on Salt Pond on the way to the race course for another memorable day of practicing with Moose.”
Brad Read, the executive director of Sail Newport, who won a J/24 world championship with Moose onboard, said, “I’ve always looked up to him as a mentor. He taught us how to win.” Read also noted another unique Moose skill. “I have never seen anyone who can look at a tangle of line in the cockpit and pick that ball of line up, look at it for three seconds, and completely untangle it.”
Gary Jobson, who won the America’s Cup, said, “I have raced with and against Moose many times over the past 40-plus years. He is a very focused, competitive sailor. He can also seem stoic. In one match race, we were in a tough battle. Moose was our jib trimmer. When our arch rival jumped the gun, I had to smile when Moose uttered, “ALRIGHT!” He’s human, like the rest of us, I thought with a smile.”
Ken Read is quite busy as the President of North Sails. But when asked for a quote about Moose, he responds immediately. “Moose McClintock is one of the key people I owe my career to. Not only as a friend but as a mentor. He and I sailed a million times back in our successful J/24 days. What did I learn from Moose? A lot I can’t talk about…and a ton about winning and improving. We could win a race by half a leg and he would self critique every second of the race. ‘Never be satisfied, you can always improve.’ Thanks, Moose.”
Bill MacGowan has a business in Newport that creates stunning graphics for some of the most important yachts in the world, like Rambler. When he received the call to create the name and the graphics for the Moose boat, he dropped what he was doing and donated his services. He said, “I’ve known Moose since I moved to Newport 30 years ago. He’s been a fixture on the water, a great sailor, and he’s still out there making it happen for the Laser sailors and that’s awesome.”
At the dedication ceremony, host Mark Bear, a professor at MIT who has finished on the podium at the Laser Master Worlds twice, said, “How do you thank someone like this, the person who gives up his Sundays to freeze his tail off so we can have fun in our Lasers? If it were college basketball, we might name the court for him. If it is sailing, we might name a boat for him. So after due consideration, the fleet elders, in particular our leaders Jack McVicker and Peter Shope, have christened her “Moose” in honor of the guy who has given us so much.” Thanks for the contribution from Joe Berkeley, a member of Laser Fleet 413, a professional writer and an amateur sailor. See his work here- http://www.joeberkeley.com
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.
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