Salon Nautique/ Paris Boat Show- New J/112E!
(Paris, France)- On display at the 2016 Salon Nautique/ Paris Boat Show from December 3rd to 11th will be the fabulous new 35 foot cruiser from the J/Design team- the J/112E Sport Cruiser. The show takes place at the Parc de Exposition at Port de Versailles, Paris and the 112E will be on display at Hall 1- Stand G55.
The
J/112E Sport Cruiser has been nominated for European Yacht of the Year 2017. And, recently was presented with SAIL Magazine’s Best Boat Award in the “Best Performance Boat Over 30 ft” category. She is the newest addition to the J/Boats “E” Series of versatile performance sailing yachts.A welcome 36 feet in length, she features a spacious two-cabin accommodation plan and a comfortable, ergonomic cockpit. The J/112E is as well suited for the annual family cruise as she is racing in the local club regatta or short-handing through rough weather.
Take the opportunity to view this gorgeous sailing yacht this coming week- a great way to also spend a weekend in Paris! For more Salon Nautique/ Paris Boat Show information Read more about SAIL magazine’s J/112E review in the Best Boats 2017 article here. Learn more about the J/122E sport cruiser here.
Order the 2017 J/Calendar Today!
(Newport, RI)- A sailing calendar is a great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew. Order yours today and get it in time for the New Year!
For 2017, we have created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world. Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places.
The 2017 sailing calendar features J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/88, J/105s, J/111s, J/112E and J/65 sailing in many of the worlds most popular sailing areas- Cowes, Newport, San Francisco Bay, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Monaco and French Polynesia in the Pacific! See the gorgeous photo gallery and order your 2017 J/Sailing Calendar here.
4th Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series Update(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- For the first time in the Principality of Monaco, four classes will be sharing the race area for the Monaco Sportsboat Winter Series this weekend, 9-11 December. For three days, J/70s and M20s will be racing alongside the new generation foiling GC32 catamarans and the spectacular one-design M32 catamarans. With some 300 sailors from 12 nationalities expected, these regattas organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco, in collaboration with clothing supplier SLAM and first instigated by Valentin Zavadnikov, have become major events on the winter calendar.
For their second meeting of the season, a 27-strong international fleet of J/70s from 11 nationalities. Winner at November’s meeting, YCM member Ludovico Fassitelli’s JUNDA has his sights set on repeating his performance to consolidate his position at the top of the championship. Chasing them hard will be Russia’s top women skipper- Ms. Kovalenko’s ARTTUBE; Turkey’s Emir Icgoren on AMEERA JET; Italy’s Mario Beraha on SASHA GREY; and famous Italian offshore and America’s Cup sailor- Vincenzo Onorato on MASCALZONE LATINO/ MOBY.To complete this full-on sailing weekend, fluid and appendages specialist, Martin Fisher, the man behind the GC32 and head of the design team for the French America’s Cup challenger, will be unveiling the latest advances in foil development at a maritime conference on Saturday 10th December at 6:30pm in the YCM Meeting Room (Quay level). For more YC Monaco Winter Sportsboat Series sailing information
2017 J/70 Europeans Announcement(Hamble, England)- The Royal Southern Yacht Club (RSrnYC) is proud to be hosting the 2017 J/70 European Championships from Saturday 3rd to Friday 9th June, in conjunction with the J/70 UK Class Association.
The Club completed the Prince Philip Yacht Haven, opened by our Patron, the Duke of Edinburgh, in 2015. This, and its associated waterside deck, has greatly enhanced our walk-ashore and entertaining facilities, ideal for this major Championship. Karen Henderson-Williams, Commodore of the RSrnYC, said “Hosting such major Championships is a rewarding challenge for the RSrnYC and its members. We are looking forward to showing the J/70 competitors some great hospitality in our wonderfully enhanced facilities.”
After two days of registration and measurement inspections racing commences on Monday 5th June, with an opportunity for competitors to sail a practice race, then the Championships run Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th June. The Championships provide a great opportunity for teams to prepare for the 2017 World Championships in Italy later in September. We expect a large entry list, with significant interest from Europeans and North America sailors. If required, the event will have a qualifying and final series, with the option for two race course areas.
RSrnYC’s PRO Stuart Childerley commented, “The intention is to run eleven Championship races. We are preparing for a large fleet and I am sure the sailors will find racing on the Hillhead Plateau area of the Central Solent challenging and fun. The Solent in June can be a stunning championship venue.”
Commenting on behalf of the J/70 UK Class Association, Ian Wilson said, “The Championships will stimulate the growth of the UK based fleet further, and we are very pleased to have a major championship being held in the UK, ahead of hosting the Worlds in 2019.“
The Hamble-based Club has published the Notice of Race (NoR), and it is available for download here, along with other related information. Additional information and support is available from the Royal Southern Yacht Club Sailing Office - Tel: +44 (0)23 8045 0302 or Email: sailing@royal-southern.co.uk
For more J/70 European Championship sailing information
Quantum J/70 Winter Series I Preview(Tampa, FL)- The 2016/ 2017 edition of the third Quantum J/70 Winter Series continues to grow in popularity with sailors from across America, Canada, and even the Caribbean! The “sailingest yacht club in the south”, the Davis Island YC, is again proud to host the enormous contingent of J/sailors descending upon them for racing the weekend of December 10th to 11th. There are fifty-five entries, with 28 Corinthian crews and 27 open division teams.
With a massive cold snap about to hit the continental U.S. with a Siberian high pressure system sweeping south with temperatures in the low 30s F for northern Florida (!), no question the “snow birds” heading south have to be pretty happy! The crews have to be excited that Tampa Bay’s forecast- sunny, warm 60-70’s F northeaster at 10-16 kts on Saturday and more sun with ESE winds of 5-10 kts on Sunday!
The Corinthians division continues to grow and increase in competitiveness. Returning champion Robb Britts’ HOT MESS from the host DIYC will be hoping to duplicate that feat again. His team’s challenge will be to maintain good form and pace against a number of hot crews that have jumped into the frying pan to have some fun down south this winter. Some of those crews include Ed Austin’s CHINOOK, Henry Brauer’s RASCAL, Jon Pollak’s MONKEY BUSINESS, Bryan Cameron’s B-SQUARED, Stu McCrea’s GONE, Holly Graf’s SPICE, and Mike Sudofsky’s CARLOS. Of note, is that the US Coast Guard Academy is fielding a team from New London, CT, spearheaded by coach Doug Clark sailing with a crew of USCG cadets.
Not surprisingly, the Open division will have a number of top crews that should be near the top of the leaderboard for the series. Amongst those crews are Doug Strebel and Jay Lutz combining together again on the famous BLACK RIVER RACING from Texas; Chuck Corbishley’s LATE LIFE CRISIS, Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, TX; Leif Sigmond’s NORBOY from Chicago; Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego; John Brim’s RIMETTE from Fisher’s Island/ Palm Beach; Al Terhune’s DAZZLER from Annapolis; Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport; John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA from Chicago; Darby Smith’s AFRICA from Marblehead; Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY from the Cayman Islands; and Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Beverly. For more Quantum J/70 Winter series sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
In the first week of December, plenty of sailing activity was taking place in the southern hemispheres as well as the Caribbean and isolated pockets in the far north. Starting off in Chile, the J/70 class just concluded its Spring Championships in Algarrobo, a pretty fishing and resort town due west of Santiago and the massive Andes Mountain range sporting dozens of snow-capped, active volcanos!In the northern parts of the Americas, a large fleet of boats also sailed in view of the spectacular Cascades Mountains in the Pacific Northwest, also resplendent with majestic snow-capped peaks of dormant (we think) volcanos! Those boats were sailing in the South Sound Sailing Society’s Winter Vashon Island Race; J’s that participated in this “cool” event included J/29s up to a J/160! South of them, in significantly warmer climate, the San Diego YC Hot Rum Series finale took place off the promontory known as Point Loma; a number of J/crews on J/70s, J/105s, J/120s, J/125s, J/111, J/46 and others enjoyed the end of their sailing season on San Diego Harbor. Hop-scotching across the continent, we find two races that took place on the southern Florida peninsula. Amazingly, it was two “classic” J’s that put the hammer down to collect silverware. In the Key Biscayne Round Island Race, hosted by Biscayne YC, a J/30 lifted up her skirts and flew around the course! Simultaneously, another J/30 sailed the 70nm Storm Trysail Wirth Munroe Miami to Palm Beach Race!
A few hundred miles ESE of the hot J/30 action off Miami, the Montego Bay YC hosted their annual Jamin’ Jamaica J/22 International Invitational for a fleet of ten boats with crews coming from as far away as Canada, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, and the USA.
Finally, the action was fast and furious in the Hamble Winter Series Finale with sailing taking place on the Southampton Water and the Solent. The fleet of one-design J/88s and IRC classes with J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, J/92s, J/97s competed for class honors on a beautiful, but quite chill day on the water.
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:
Dec 10-11- Quantum J/70 Winter Series I- Tampa, FLJan 7-8- Quantum J/70 Winter Series II- Tampa, FL
Jan 15-23- Quantum Key West Regatta- Key West, FL
Feb 4-5- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Tampa, FL
Feb 10-12- J/24 Midwinters- Indian Harbour Beach, FL
Feb 17-19- St Petersburg NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 23-26- J/70 Midwinters- St Petersburg, FL
Mar 9-11- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 17-19- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
April 20-23- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
May 5-7- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
LEXUS Wins J/70 Chile Spring Series(Algarrobo, Chile)- The Cofradía Nautica del Pacifico in Algarrobo held the final race in the Chilean J/70 Spring Series last weekend. Fifteen boats were participating from all three fleets in Chile (Algarrobo, Lago Panguipulli, Puerto Montt). The CNPA race committee crew managed to hold eight races over the two-day weekend finale for the happy crews. Winning the event on a tie-breaker at 20 pts each was Felipe Robles’ crew on LEXUS over Matias Seguel’s ALEGRO
The regatta started off with light winds on Saturday, with the race committee managing to run four races. Leading after the first day with a very steady 2-3-2-3 was Seguel’s ALEGRO- he was 10th in the San Francisco J/70 Worlds and was winner of the Chilean J/24 Nationals just three weeks ago. Needless to say, Seguel’s crew felt like they were on a roll with their skipper, Felipe "Flecha" Robles, at the helm. In second for the day was Carlos Vergara’s SENSEI with a 4-6-3-2 and sitting in third was Jorge Gonzalez’s MAL CRIADO with a 3-1-8-6.
On the second day of racing, the winds increased substantially over the day before. With bigger waves and “planing mode” conditions, the differences in each teams performance changed dramatically; some crews were much faster than others in the bigger breeze. Consequently, Robles’ LEXUS crew closed with a convincing record of 2-1-3-4 to be able to throw out a first race 13th place to win the regatta on the tie-breaker. Behind the two leaders in third place was Pablo Amunategui’s BLACK JACK with 23 pts total. The balance of the top five included Vergara’s SENSEI in 4th and Per Von Appen’s BLACK SAILS in 5th place (he was the 2016 Chilean J/70 Nationals winner on Lago Panguipulli). According to Juan Eduardo Reid, the Chilean J/distributor, “we had five teams debuting this weekend. Four of them received their boats from the J/70 Worlds San Francisco purchase program! The sixth team to debut was J/70 156, it was donated by entrepreneur Nicolás Ibañez young sailors to campaign on the Chile J/70 circuit; for this regatta Branko Markinovik, former Chile National Opti and Laser coach, crewed for the young skipper Ezequiel Grez- a very promising sailor at the National and World level!”
The next major regatta for the Chilean J/70s will be the 2017 J/70 Nationals on Panguipulli Lake from February 10th to 12th; this regatta will be the largest since the class was formed in late 2014, with 18-20 J/70 teams expected from all fleets! There will also be a Pre-Nationals Regatta on Frutillar Lake (close to Puerto Montt and Patagonia) from February 3rd to 5th.
Hamble Winter Series Finale(Hamble, Great Britain)- A brisk and chilly 12-20 knot breeze greeted competitors in the final race of the 2016 Hamble Winter Series, providing some great conditions for a fitting end to a close fought series in all classes, much to the delight of the regatta hosts- the Hamble River Sailing Club!
This year's series saw an increase in entrants over 2015, and for the first time in over 10 years, the Hamble Winter Series hasn't lost a single race to bad weather. HRSC PRO Stuart Childerley summed up the series, “We have set out to provide a real mix of course types for the broad range of boat types and given something for everyone at some stage of the event. All of the Hamble River SC race team volunteers did a great job supporting the series and the HRSC house team were magnificent is revitalizing sailors after racing. Well done everyone; it's been a great winter series!!”
In IRC 1 class, Christopher Daniel's J/122 JUNO closed out their season nicely by taking a third in the final race. Overall, they took 8th place with Simon Bamford’s J/111 KESTREL winning the participation award for J/sailors, participating in every single race of the 12 race series from October 2nd to November 27th; they took 6th for the event. In IRC2, Simon Perry's J/109 JIRAFFE won the final race, bringing them to within 2 points of overall leaders, but it wasn't enough to knock them off the top spot. JIRAFFE was followed by Chris Burleigh’s J/109 GYBE TALKIN’ in 5th and Rob Cotterill’s J/109 MOJO RISIN’ in 6th position.
In IRC3, it was David Greenhalgh and crew on the J/92 J’RONIMO that scored a bullet in the final race of the series to secure 4th overall for the series. Meanwhile, Robin Stevenson's J/92S UPSTART took a fourth in the last race, just enough to hand them first overall! Behind these two were Annie & Andy Howe’s J/97 BLACKJACK II in fifth place.
In the J/88 fleet, class leaders, Kirsty and David Apthorp on J-DREAM, added another bullet to their score to win the race and take first overall. Behind them, a closely fought race for second place went to Gavin Howe and crew on TIGRIS, who finished 20 seconds ahead of Paul Ward's EAT SLEEP J REPEAT. This wasn't quite enough for them to stay ahead in the overall series rankings, with ESJR sitting second overall by one point and TIGRIS in 3rd. Rounding out the top five were Tim Tolcher’s RAGING BULL in 4th and Paul & Marie-Claude Heys’ JENGA in 5th place.Thanks to all sponsors, competitors and volunteer race teams and helpers for a great series! Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth/ pwpictures.com and Hamo Thornycroft For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information
J/70s & J/105s Dominate Hot Rum Series(San Diego, CA)- The third race, and grand finale, for the San Diego YC’s famous Hot Rum Series took place on December 3rd. Blessed with the third weekend of breeze, the sailors enjoyed the joy ride out the San Diego Harbor Channel, past Point Loma, around the sea buoys and back to the frenetic finish line just off the tip of Shelter Island. Taking home lots of silverware were Rick Goebel’s J/105 SANITY in PHRF Class 3 and Fabian Gomez-Ibarra’s J/70 VAGAZO in PHRF Class 4.
The series was not without some drama during the middle race. Apparently, Goebel’s SANITY was approaching the end of the San Diego Harbor channel leading their class and in the hunt for a top five finish in the race.However, as they tacked onto port to head for home and a hoped for win, they looked up to see the mast falling off dramatically to leeward like a wet noodle. Reacting instinctively, skipper Goebel spun the boat back onto starboard tack to save the mast. Immediately, one of the crew noticed the upper tang of the port upper shroud had let go and headed up the rig on the spinnaker halyard. With sails luffing, he reconnected the shroud tang (after another crew spun-off the turnbuckle) and Goebel’s crew was able to resume sailing on port tack towards the finish. It was a lucky reaction by the quick-thinking SANITY crew. As a result, they lost the potential to win the entire Hot Rum Race series overall, but still managed to win the 36-boat PHRF Class 3 with a 1-5-2 scoreline for 8 pts. Taking third in their class was Dennis Case’s J/105 WINGS with an 11-3-1 tally for 15 pts. Rounding out the top five as Erostino Dagfish’s J/105 VIGGEN in 5th place with a 4-16-3 score.
The 33-boat PHRF 2 class saw John Laun’s J/120 CAPER sail better and better to close the series with a 14-3-4 for 21 points and 2nd place. The next J/120s were Mike Hatch’s J-ALMIGHTY in 10th and Chuck Nichols’ CC RIDER in 11th. Twelfth was Tim Harmon’s J/124 CIRRUS and fifteenth was Doug Jorgensen’s J/111 PICOSA. The fast-sailing crews on J/70s dominated the 19-boat PHRF 4 class. Top of the leaderboard was Gomez-Ibarra’s VAGAZO with an amazing scorecard of 1-1-2 for 4 pts. Taking second on a tie-break was Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR with a 5-3-4 for 12 pts. Fourth was Steve Wyman’s NUNUHUNU with a 4-6-3 for 13 pts. Close racing in the top five! Sailing photo credits- San Diego YC/ Cynthia Synclair. For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information
Johnson Tops Jamin Jamaica J/22 Regatta!(Montego Bay, Jamaica)- For the 2016 edition of the Jamin’ Jamaica J/22 Regatta, there was a lot of early interest from possible teams from Trinidad, Puerto Rico and the usual suspects from the USA, Canada, Cayman Islands and the rest of Europe. The Montego Bay YC and J/22 Fleet ended up welcoming four visiting teams, three repeats from Cayman Islands and a new team from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
With the phenomenal support from the Cayman Islands J/22 fleet, there were mutterings about changing the regatta name from “Jamin” to “Cam-Jam”, or something similar. A hearty “high five” to Mike Farrington, Bruce Johnson, Suvi Hayden, and their teams for making the effort and putting in a great showing– again! It is 20 years since Mike did his first Jamin regatta and 22 years for Bruce! Other big names from year’s gone by didn’t make it this year, but we hope they are going to return in 2017! Jamaica J/22 Jamin International Regatta
This annual regatta is an open invitation to the global sailing community to bring a crew to Jamaica, race someone else’s boat (with no rental fee), get home hosted (at no cost), and get the ultimate high on a great race track for a very modest entry fee. The perfect regatta for these tough economic times; something to look forward to during the dark winter months of our northern neighbors!
Race DaysWith 82% of available boats in the country appearing on the line, thanks to owner’s Steven Cooke and PJ Gibson bringing their boats from Kingston, there were some exciting mark roundings and odd bits of damage despite the light to moderate conditions.
With the surprise disappearance of the mark set last year by the Commodore and his team in 110’ of water, the race courses all got a lot shorter than anticipated! What was more of a challenge was the usual easterly breeze tending to shift further to the south, falling outside of the race committee’s defined marks. As usual, the very tricky wind shifts were the critical element for the whole weekend.
Who won?! It may or not matter to some, thanks to the copious amounts of rum supplied by local sponsor Appleton Rum- Jamaica’s Best! A total of seven races were sailed, all counters, no throw-outs. It turned out those cavalier Cayman Islanders must’ve been doing some kind’a practicin’! Good Lord, three of the top five this year?? What gives??. In the end, Bruce Johnson from Cayman Island Sailing Club had one of his best years ever sailing the Jamin regatta. He sailed DEFENDER to first place with just 20 pts total. Second was the CALYPSO team led by Michele Cimon from Canada with 27 pts. Rounding out the podium was Peter Harper’s ZIPPER from Mo’Bay just 2 pts back with 29 pts. The balance of the top five was filled out by 2015 winner, Mike Farrington from Cayman on NINA with 31 pts and fellow Cayman Islander Suvi Hayden’s crew on AWESOME in 5th place with 32 pts. Holy tightrope, Batman! The top five was determined by just 5 points! Fun, fun, fun racing for all. But, the sailing paled in comparison to the social side of things.
“The” Retro PartySaturday evening’s social festivities took place at Bryan and Lyn Langford’s house at Great River Pirate. It has become a famous tradition for Jamin J/22 Jamaica and this year’s “theme” was “funkadelic retro”. The evening entertainment was punctuated by a full-on retro session with a rocking DJ and awesome decorations. As usual, the bar was flowing and the food was simply amazing! There was a delicious smorgasbord of food donated by Mo’Bay members and the visiting yachtsmen and yachtswomen enjoyed every bite. The highlight of the evening was “Bob-ette”, the personal guest of Commodore Nigel, who had provided “figurehead” services on the race course during the day. It was a night to remember! Checkout the Jamin FB page of social festivities here. Flickr photos of sailing on Mo’Bay. From Krystian Dear- a rockin’ video drone of awesomeness of sailing Mo’Bay.
About JaminJamin is a regatta of volunteers and amateurs getting together to do something they love- sailing on Mo’Bay! The J/22’s are loaned for the use of visitors, home hosting is arranged for those that need, and the land-based entertainment is all sorted. The regatta first started in 1989 as the Jam-Am Invitational when there were close ties with the US J/22 sailing fraternity. The regatta was designed as an open invitation to the USA and designed with the emphasis on fun.
The regatta evolved into an international invitational open to entries from the entire planet. Jamin’ is now held at the beginning of December every year for any sailors who are willing to come and risk the warm tropical trade winds, sun and the blue waters of the Caribbean- tough duty, we know. The whole event revolves around having fun on and off the water. The winner of the event by extension is a “J/22 Global Champion” and obviously a “Living Legend” as every year the entire world is invited to come and play!
Ha’yuuuge, ginormous “Thank You’s” to the following cast of characters and supporters that make this event happenin’ mon!- Montego Bay Yacht Club, MBYC Management Committee, Taddy, Heather and Zeirain, MBYC Dockmaster, Dawson and assistant Anthony
- J/22 owners who allowed their boat to be sailed by others
- Bryan and Lynda Langford for the prize giving venue – Landfall! This has become the best part of the weekend!
- Race committee volunteers Robin Delisser, Lyn Langford and Phil Slow and particularly Captain Slow for the use of his home- Diva.
- Carole Small for organization of names and food for prize giving
- All those who donated food and drink for the Retro – you know who you are!
- J/22 owner Frank May for lending his boat while he went back to the golf course, again…
- Frank May and Peter Harper – handmade prizes and plaques
- Ev Harrington for all her silly prizes!
- Sarah Hart for the updated logo
- Accommodations:
- Inga Hjartar for home hosting
- Jacqueline Hamilton for apartment lending
- Sandals Resorts for apartment lending
- Ian Johnston photography on the water and Nigel Lord off the water
- Montego Bay Yacht Club Restaurant - Robbie Joseph’s Seahorse Grill
- PJ Stewart for the new perpetual trophy
- Suvi for the T-Shirt branding
Next race! Book your ride early for Jamin’ Jamaica J/22 Invitational Regatta- December 9th and 10th, 2017!! Nothing beats it! One-design yacht racing in Jamaica– clean starts, protest free, fun racing in challenging conditions! Plus, did we mention that it’s sunny, 70s-80s, and windy on Mo’Bay?? Also, remember that Jamaica is the heartbeat and soul of the Caribbean (remember reggae superstars Bob Marley & the Wailers?). For more Jamin Jamaica J/22 International Regatta sailing information
Vashon Island- “Hippie” Drag-Racing in Seattle!?(Vashon Island, WA)- Ahh Winter Vashon – lovingly sitting at the forefront of sailors minds as they think longingly all year long about this balmy jaunt around the last stronghold of “hippiedom” in the Pacific Northwest- Vashon Island. At just over 30 miles, it’s an easy 6 hour sail with those consistent south sound winds the area is known for and with our 8 hours of light this time of year finishing in daylight is even a possibility! Right? Well it was this year! Here is the report from SAIL Northwest’s Ben Braden:
“Sailors began arriving into the super-fund cleanup site, previously known as Tacoma Yacht Club, soon after sunlight began filtering through the cloud layers, increasing everyone’s sight noticeably, well everyone except the delivery crews that arrived late Friday night under the veil of darkness that needed to be kicked out of their bunks and told to clean themselves up and try to smell a little better, but that’s another story. For those of you that haven’t been down to TYC recently its now a huge clean-up/construction site complete with every kind of large piece of equipment, gravel and construction mud are the new parking lot surfaces along with some new rock outcroppings both in the entrance of the marina and outside near the starting area that grabbed ahold of at least 2 different boats (watch out for that).
Winds were forecast in the normal south sound 6 to 11 range but as the cruising classes started down the course at just after 9am it quickly became apparent that the fore-guessers were wrong once again; but for the first time since man learned to cure cod with lye they had under-guessed the wind speeds! The waiting boats watched as the cruising class boats began rounding-up in the puffs while reaching across the south end of Vashon towards Colvos Passage with a few chutes opening up in the middle to help de-power the rounding up boats. Not good, but lovely for sailmakers!
Not deterred by the out of control behavior of some of the cruising class boats the rest of the fleet began crossing the line as their class start horns blared away with chutes pulling hard. The bigger faster boats had their fun, too, as the puffs continued to build over 20 knots and took their toll on a few more boats.
Once around the point, and into Colvos passage, the drag race was on. The J/160 JAM barreled her way through the slower boats that started well ahead of them. Even though the wind was behind the fleet, the excitement wasn’t over yet as the sailors were treated to views of a few keels and nice shot of the bottom of a 30 footer before sailing past the north end of Vashon Island, the turning mark in sight.
A full mix of boats came charging into the anchored turning boat just north of Vashon island and to make things even more interesting, and unbeknownst to almost everyone in the PNW, shrimping season was open and in full effect when the big J/133 were seen slowly and painfully grinding their spinnakers back aboard after dunking them in the water looking for those tasty little buggers, I’m sure!! Small jibs pulled in tight, crews on the rail, it was time for the starboard tack drag race all the way down the island to the light house on Point Robinson – all the way on starboard tack with boats footing or pinching for clear wind lanes and mainsail trimmers praying for just one tack after the point so they could switch to their other hand.
The winds stayed consistent in the 12 to 16 knot range on the drag race to the light house and once around the point it even backed down into the 9 knot range causing many to peal down to their big jibs, warming their crews and testing their abilities – if the sail change was done smoothly boats made huge gains on their competition. With gear or crew problems boats were left bareheaded for a short time as the J/109 TANTIVY got to experience. Then, less than 20 minutes later, the winds were back over 20 knots and those happy crews got to pull that little jib out of the always too small foredeck hatch and make that change all over again for the windy final stretch into the finish off the Tacoma Yacht Club clubhouse grounds.
Boats from out of the area did the quick touch and go’s, folding some sails, discarding some of their crews and throwing their dodgers back on before heading back out into the dwindling sunlight and building breeze for the trek back up to Shilshole that many in the fleet were making that night. Boats reported winds up to and over 30 knots as they set record speeds on their deliveries from Tacoma to Seattle with at least one blown up spinnaker and broken pole.”
J/crews, in general, faired pretty well in the randomness of Pacific NW weather conditions. Endlessly entertaining, always challenging! In the world of big boats in PHRF 2 Class, the top J/Jockey was John Murkowski’s gorgeous navy blue/teak-decked J/122E JOY RIDE taking 2nd in class. They were followed by one of PNW’s most famous offshore boats, John McPhail’s J/160 JAM, happily taking a 3rd in the freaky conditions. Despite their new “shrimping” technique, Ron Holbrook’s J/133 CONSTELLATION placed 5th in class.
It was tough going in PHRF 3 Class, hanging on by a thread for an uncharacteristic 6th place was the J/109 TANTIVY skippered by Stu Burnell.
The PHRF 4 Class was all J/35’s. A boat that is still going strong and just killing it in PHRF events nationwide, if not in IRC/ ORR/ ORC rated events around the world. After all, it still is the “classic” rating standard for many of those handicap rules! Winning class was Glenn & Joanna Cowling’s SOMETHING SPECIAL. They were followed by Dan Wierman’s GREAT WHITE in 2nd, Jerry & Chona McKay’s MELANGE in 3rd, Jason Vannice’s ALTAIR in 4th and Karl Haflinger’s SHEARWATER in 5th.
PHRF 5 Class was a massive battle for the overall leadership, pretty much defined by the “wind/ current gates” as described above. In the end, Matt Gardner-Brown’s J/105 DULCINEA took 2nd against all odds; recognizing that race conditions were aligned against them. Despite having a number of opportunities to hop into “the chocolates”, Christine Nelson & Eric Johnson’s J/29 SLICK took a 7th in class.
The Commodore-FS Class is “cruising world” and is greatly enjoyed by its laid-back participants. In the end, it’s not known which is the higher priority, “hot rum cinnamon cider” on the weather rail or simply something HOT, period, like tea or hot chocolate! Appropriately enough, it was Bill Harter’s J/37C MERRY MAKER that took top honors for J/crews, finishing 4th in class. They were followed by Tim Cleary’s J/35 JUMPIN JACK in 6th and Ed Pinkham’s J/109 JEOPARDY in 7th. Good times were had by all!!
Thanks for contribution from Ben Braden from Sail Northwest- who is best known in the Pacific Northwest for his unique racing style: winning races with a BBQ on the transom! Jan Anderson’s beautiful pictures of deranged sailors that think sailing around Vashon Island in December is a good idea can be found here. For South Sound Sailing Society’s Vashon Island Race sailing information
The PAPPARAZZI Flash Wirth Munroe Race!(Palm Beach, FL)- The 60th Annual Wirth Munroe Memorial Miami to Palm Beach Race, a 70nm sprint up the Gulf Stream from Miami to Palm Beach, was sailed on Friday, December 2, 2016. The Sailfish Club of Florida welcomed a new co-sponsor, the Storm Trysail Club, to this legendary event and the race returned to it’s historical starting line off Miami, FL.
An approaching cold front confounded the weather forecasters, but the fleet was able to start with light NW winds and rain showers but with a good heading taking them out to the Gulf Stream. At mid-day, the fleet, while spread out, sailed into a windless hole with a choppy sea while drifting north at 4 kts. Once the front cleared the predicted North-northeaster filled in at 15-20 kts and the race began again with boats tacking north to remain in the Stream before exiting on the starboard lay line to the finish.Once berthed at The Sailfish Club of Florida the sailors enjoyed the Club’s renowned welcoming reception and awards dinner. A special award was presented to the crew of “Grey Poupon” for catching and landing the largest fish while racing, a 15 lb. bonito!! This was appropriate since the long-time sponsor of this race is a fishing club!! Absolutely, bloody, brilliant! Next year, the J/Crew that lands the largest “big kahuna” will get a free Apple iPad!
In the seventeen-boat fleet was a trio of J/sailors in the PHRF classes, from a J/30 up to a J/160. In the end, they all had fun; some more than others! Don Lasky’s J/30 PAPARAZZI has been sailing this race for years from Ft. Lauderdale and ended up 2nd and 3rd in class in past races. This year, with a longer course, 60 miles starting in Miami, they finally won their class and PHRF overall!! And, this was in an “old J/30”, never considered a fast boat (?!). The Wirth Munroe Race rewards navigational skill besides sailing skill. Well, unlike “fake news”, Don’s crew are “real” people and dropped the hammer on their “gulf streamer” racing friends! Congrats to them! For more Wirth Munroe Invitational Race sailing information
J/30 SUDAKA Wins Key Biscayne Round Island Race(Key Biscayne, FL)- The 50th Anniversary Edition of the Ed Willman Memorial Regatta took place on Saturday, November 19th and was hosted by the Biscayne YC. It was another “classic” around Key Biscayne race, with the sailors looking forward to a nice seabreeze to develop; enabling the crews to sail a nice, easy-going leg off the southwest tip of the island before they headed north in a building breeze to ultimately finish back in the Bay.
It was another fantastic regatta on the J/30 SUDAKA. The crew consisted of Captain Carlos Mandiola (Coldwell Banker) with his crew Greg Mandiola (Stearns Weaver), Tom Bremen (Bremen Sails), John Green (Chairman of the YC adult sailing program), Manuel Balbontin (United Airlines), Theodore Holloway (Council Member Village of Key Biscayne), and Ashley Sullivan (Daughter of our reminded friend and mentor Ray Sullivan). Thank you for all the hard work of the Key Biscayne Yacht Club members that organized this fun regatta!!
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* The inaugural ISSA High School National Championships were held on St Petersburg YC’s brand new fleet of J/70s sailing off St Petersburg, Florida.Phil Pape was out shooting the event on his RIB and took some beautiful photos of the kids racing around the track on an absolutely spectacular weekend of sailing on Tampa Bay.
Check them out here: http://www.philpape.photography/p1024047141
* J/30 ZEPHYR from New Orleans, LA doing good community things! The New Orlean’s based J/30 Team ZEPHYR was awarded the top fund raising sailing program in the nation after raising $127,000!!
Check out their annual video kicked off by San Francisco Yacht Club’s Rhett Krawitt who is now “GONE WITH CANCER”.Music “Hold On” by NBC’s The Voice and Zephyr sailor, Terry McDermott, with his band Lotus Crush. #J30 #OD48 #NOYC.org #GoSailing #LLS.
Watch this awesome sailing video of the J/30 ZEPHYR here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/I8HAuFt6078
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 and now into the Mediterranean. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand and points further around the Blue Planet Earth. Here is their latest update (December 2016) from Bill & Kathy:“We completed a three year tour of the south pacific and sailed from Hobart Tasmania back to Seattle in the fall of 2012. After two seasons of local cruising, we decided to truck the boat to Rochester NY. In the summer of 2015, we sailed out the Saint Lawrence seaway and down the east coast of Nova Scotia and the US, with a few months in the Bahamas that winter. This past summer, we crossed the Atlantic with stops in Bermuda and the Azores, making landfall in Falmouth, UK. We have worked down the coast of France, Spain and Portugal and are now in Lagos Portugal. We plan on passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and spending a couple seasons in the Med.”
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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