J/121 Hatched Into Space!(Newport, RI)- Air space, that is, at CCF Composites in Bristol, RI! It is an exciting development in the new J/121 offshore speedster project. She looks sleek and very fast!
Elon Musk’s Space-X or Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin projects have nothing on the hypersonic capabilities of the latest sailing machine evolving off the drawing boards from the J/Design Team. Optimized for short-handed sailing, you can see from these photos the J/121 has a knife-like bow to cut through the seas with
minimal resistance and powerful stern-quarters that will permit her to race down the waves at 20+ kt speeds all day long offshore.Start planning (or planing?) now to get a trial sail on the J/121 after she has launched this summer on Narragansett Bay! She will be based in Newport starting in July. Call or email Kendra to get on the list soon (info@jboats.com). For more J/121 Offshore Speedster information
Les Voiles de St Barths Regatta Preview(Gustavia, St Barthelemy)- The 8th edition of the Voiles de St Barth continues its amazing trajectory to be the class act of the Caribbean offshore winter racing circuit. In a short period of time, it has become a “bucket list” event for many sailors that have come to love the spectacular, mountainous French emerald, a setting that evokes romance, fun for all, and tremendous joy sailing in such spectacular surroundings. Les Voiles is renown for its extraordinary ambiance, the fabulous organization, the extravagant entertainment and daily awards each evening, the two beach parties to end all beach parties (Nikki Beach and Shell Beach Crew Party), and the picturesque, yet challenging races each day (selected by the PRO from a list of 35+ courses!).
This year’s event has its usual eclectic mix of boats, a reflection of the sailing fleet in the Caribbean during the wintertime in the northern hemisphere. Sixty-seven boats in all are participating with fifteen Maxi’s highlighting the event along with five large, fast multihulls. However, the real story of the event for J/sailors is that of the forty-four keelboats sailing the regatta, TEN of them are J/Teams (23% of the keelboat fleet)! Soon, Les Voiles could become the future J/Caribbean Festival!
Here are some highlights of the teams participating in this year’s event. In the provisional CSA Racing 4 Class is Rob Butler’s J/88 TOUCH2PLAY Racing from Toronto, Ontario; they have been sailing the entire winter circuit so far and have faired quite well, placing in most of them- Key West Race Week, Heineken St Maarten, St Thomas International Regatta, and BVI Spring Regatta to date! Another Caribbean winter circuit veteran is Jordan Mindich’s J/105 SOLSTICE, they too have sailed Heineken St Maarten and St Thomas and are featuring a J/105 North American Champion as skipper for this regatta- Bruce Stone from San Francisco, CA. Finally, two J/109s are racing, both with local island pedigree. The “Irish” crew from St Barth’s are sailing David Cullen’s POCKET ROCKET, they’re a formidable team and won CSA 5 Class at “the Heineken”. The other local St Barth 109 crew is led by Sophie Olivaud, skippering LES VOILES AU FEMININ- an all-women’s crew from the island! This provisional CSA Racing 4 Class is going to be tough, with the top three boats from previous events likely trading-off the class lead and top three results on the leaderboard. The outcome depends on the breezes and type of courses, e.g. more reaches versus windward/leeward racetracks. If it is lighter, the J/88 should predominate. If it is reachy, the J/105 could crush. If there is a lot of upwind, the J/109s could easily prevail.
The scenario playing out in the CSA Racing 5 Class is not much different. Several veteran Caribbean racers up against some charterers (also very experienced teams)! The betting form in this group is actually quite complicated since it could also see an outcome based on weather conditions. For example, if there is a fair amount of reaching conditions, especially in a breeze, the J/111 could simply walk off with all the silver. Then again, get enough windward-leeward lumpy seas with any breeze and the two J/122s could do the same. Or, have enough of a mixture of conditions in lighter winds and the trio of J/120s might prove everyone wrong and clean sweep the class powered-on by their massive “beach ball” spinnakers and huge light air genoas!The lone J/111 is J/BOSS, skippered by Frenchman Stéphane Blanchard. Her owner is from Martinique and the crew is half Martinique and half French. The French crew has raced for the past four years on their J/111 called Le Jouet in Pornichet, France. In past Voiles St Barth’s, they have finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in class.
The three J/120s will have a real challenge on their hands sailing against the fastest 41 footers in the Caribbean- the two J/122s. The J/122 EL OCASO is famous in Caribbean racing circles. Over the past 3 years, it has won every class in every regatta at least once and twice was named Overall Caribbean Circuit winner. This year, the boat has been under charter and is off to a flying start. El Ocaso has sailed Gill Commodore's Cup (3rd), Heineken St Maarten Regatta (1st CSA 3) and BVI Spring Regatta (3rd CSA Racing 1). Bob Hillier from Lake Geneva, WI has chartered her again for VSB (he sailed her in St Maarten). They have a good crew and most of the crew are Lake Michigan J/122 sailors that have won at least a half-dozen Chicago-Mackinac Races in class and at least once Overall! No pansies that crew is! The other J/122 from Antigua, LIQUID (Pamala Baldwin's boat), is a fast boat with a good crew. They won Gill Commodore's Cup CSA 3 Class and have an experienced skipper, George Bridger, helping them take on the mighty EL OCASO! It will be a dogfight in this class for class honors!
With the organizers choosing a renowned patron for this 2017 edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth, the famous French offshore sailor Lionel Péan is the “godfather” of the race, it was only natural to extend this star quality to the event poster. As such, it has been designed by none other than the street artist Cyril Kongo. The self-taught painter has made a name for himself over recent years in the world of art and culture, collaborating with a series of prestigious companies, including Richard Mille, main partner to Les Voiles de St. Barth. An eye for composition and an exuberant color palette all give Kongo his unique edge.The poster for the 2017 edition recaptures the painting Kongo created last year. “It really respects my work and I'm very proud of it,” said Kongo. “Through my family and friends, I have strong links to the sea and to the Caribbean. The insularity brings calm, reflection and serenity. In St. Barthélemy during Les Voiles de St. Barth, I've rediscovered the balance I feel in the West Indies, I feel particularly inspired.” For more Les Voiles de St Barth sailing information
J/70 European Match Race Tour Preview(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- After an incredibly busy winter of regattas, there’s no let up at the Yacht Club de Monaco which hosts two regattas that have never been organized before in the Principality, starting tomorrow: J/70 European Match Race Tour and Act 1 of the M32 Mediterranean Series!
In this year of the America’s Cup, the Match Race format is back at the YC Monaco, a format in the form of duels that test the crews’ tactical skills to the limit.
So, for the first time, the YC Monaco is organizing a stage of the European Match Race circuit on J/70s made available by the Club. A reminder that with 17 boats flying the flag in the Monaco J/70 Class Association, the Principality has one of the most active and largest fleets in Europe.
Among eight European teams this weekend, two are representing Monaco: Pierrik Devic teamed up with Max Bulley and Philippe Buchard partnered with François Brenac.
A two-time French Match Racing Champion, the experience of François Brenac will be key for Buchard, but they face stiff competition against an international field, notably the Austrian team led by Max Trippolt, four-time Austrian champion in this match-racing discipline.
The provisional program for the J/70 Match Racing teams follows:
- Friday 7th April 9.30am: Briefing 11.00am: 1st warning signal
- Saturday 8th April 9.30am: Briefing 11.00am: 1st warning signal
- Sunday 9th April 9.30am: Briefing 11.00am: 1st warning signal
J/World San Diego Yachting Cup Clinic(San Diego, CA)- In early May of every year J/World conducts a special three-day racing clinic on their fleet of International J/80 one-design class sailboats, followed by two days of racing in the renowned Yachting Cup with J/World coaches aboard. Their lecture schedule for the five days includes sail trim and boat-handling, upwind strategy, starting, downwind tactics, plus a lot more! Spring training at its best!
For over 40 years, the Yachting Cup has been San Diego Yacht Club’s signature regatta. This premiere event brings together competitive fleet and one-design racing at multiple venues in San Diego. This is an excellent warm-up for the racing season, so visit them in beautiful San Diego, then go home ready to take on all comers!
It is a great program for sailors wishing to “fast-track” their understanding of what it takes to steer, trim, handle a sailboat faster! Each of the J/80’s will have teams of three students plus one coach per boat. Everyone aboard will rotate through all positions while getting positive insights from the famous J/World instructors! Sign-up now for this awesome training program at J/World San Diego.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
It was yet another week of unusual weather patterns circling our Blue Planet. This time, its most significant impact was felt, yet again, in the Caribbean. The occasion was the BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival hosted at Nanny Cay Marina in Tortola. A significant fleet of J’s were in attendance and were quite surprised by the differences in weather conditions from the previous weekend’s St Thomas International Regatta. If St Thomas was considered “light” by traditional tradewinds aficionados, they were in for an even greater shocker at BVI Springs!Over in the Americas, one of the most popular regattas on San Francisco Bay for J/crews is the J/FEST San Francisco Regatta; a one-design event for J/24s, J/70s, J/105s, J/111s, & J/120s that’s hosted by St Francis Yacht Club. The crews enjoyed nice sailing conditions, but it was punctuated by extreme weather in the form of “flooding” from events happening 100’s of miles away in the mountains- massive spring run-offs overwhelming the normal ebb & flow of the Bay’s tides!
Over on the Euro-continental side of the world, the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series continues its steady drumbeat of fun racing on the Southampton Water and the infamous Solent. This past weekend they also mimicked what was happening elsewhere around the world- little wind and lotsa tide! Over in Italy, they faced no such consequences on the Mediterranean. The first event of the summer-long Italian J/24 National Circuit just took place SW of Rome at the port of Anzio & Nettuno for a rather large fleet of J/24s! Note- it was the first 2018 J/24 Worlds qualifier- based in Lago di Garda, Italy!
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:
Apr 10-15- Les Voiles de Saint Barth- Gustavia, St BarthelemeyApril 20-23- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 30- May 1- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
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.
Warm Water, Hot Racing, Cool Parties!J/Crews Prevail @ BVI Spring Regatta/Festival
(Tortola, British Virgin Islands)– This year’s BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival featured eighty-four boats from seventeen countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Netherlands, USA, St Maarten, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Curacao, BVI, USVI, Jamaica) and crews from many more countries, too. The event has two parts, the first is the Sailing Festival that is the annual Round Tortola Race and the second is the Spring Regatta over three days.
ROUND TORTOLA RACEWith the breeze looking light for Tuesday’s annual Round Tortola Race, Bob Phillips, Regatta Chairman recommended a shorter course to ensure racers have an opportunity to get out on the water. “The breeze is supposed to be out of the south so it looks like the perfect race is likely to be around Norman and Peter Islands, a 7-8nm course, as we want to get racers out AND back,” Phillips said. “People are here to race and we want to be sure that they have some good racing rather than parked on the north side of the island. The beauty of the BVI is that we have lots of islands we can send them around – it might not be around Tortola, but it will be around an island somewhere!”
A tauntingly light breeze of 5-7 kts out of the south was enough to get 50+ boats starting in the Nanny Cay Cup, the first event of the 2017 BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival. Rather than the usual Round Tortola race, conditions favored a 16nm course starting in the channel off Nanny Cay and taking the fleet around Pelican and Flanagan Islands. The breeze built a little around the islands offering up a fairly steady 7-8 knots throughout racing.
Racing in the CSA Racing division, the J/111 SPIKE helmed by Sam Talbot (BVI) took second in division. Racing on his home turf in the challenging breeze had its benefits for Talbot, a BVI local. “We sailed really well actually and were flying upwind. It was the final run that really got us, but overall we were really happy with our race,” Talbot said, all smiles. “Local knowledge was handy with the laylines, knowing exactly how close we could get to the rocks and deciding where we could hold, it definitely came in handy. Second time around Pelican, there were a lot of worried people on board,” Talbot joked. Talbot was racing with mostly his regular crew on board with a few extras along for the ride until the more serious racing began later in the week. When asked whom he’s watching out for this week, Talbot didn’t hesitate for a second, “EL OCASO, the J/122!”
In addition to SPIKE’s great performance, Pamala Baldwin’s J/122 LIQUID from Antigua took fifth place in class.
BVI SPRING REGATTANext up for the fleet was the Spring Regatta. There was no question the amplitude of seriousness increased a few magnitudes for this event as all kinds of all-star crews came flying back in from around the world to help various teams improve their chances for some silverware. Here is how it all went down..
Day 1- Classic Virgin Gorda Sound Sailing
In CSA Racing on Day 1, the fleet leaders were established early. The sailors enjoyed great conditions, starting in a 12 kts easterly that built to 15 kts throughout the day. Boats raced a combination of two long and one short windward-leeward race.
“Racing was really fantastic,” said Dave Brennan, Principal Race Officer, “We were able to start off Nanny Cay and I sent my committee boats on three different race courses which worked out really well. The racing was good, conditions couldn’t have been better and racers got to enjoy a lot of the real beauty here with courses that took them around the scenic rocks, Deadman’s chest, Salt and Ginger Islands.”
CSA Racing 1 class saw three good races. At the end of the day, Chris Body’s family team from the United Kingdom had a great outing on their chartered J/122 EL OCASO, posting a 2-4-2 to hold on to 2nd place in the standings. Just off the mark was Sam Talbot’s J/111 SPIKE from the BVI with an uncharacteristically slow start of 8-2-6, but still good enough for 4th place in class.
In CSA Racing 2 class, a wildly eclectic mixture of boats, it was Rob Butler’s J/88 TOUCH2PLAY that posted a rather sobering 7-3-6 to hang in to the top five.
Day 2- Challenging Light AirsMore light air challenged the fleet on the second day. Racing started at 1000 in an 8-10 knot easterly. One of the more amusing scenarios was a top J/24 team sailing in the CSA Bareboat 1 class. Team BYRA was racing on La Bella Vita, a Sunsail 51. The team of 9 sailing friends from Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, took a second and first to end the day with 12 points. Team BYRA normally race J-24s so are finding their BVI ride quite a step up.
“This boat does not react like a J-24!” John Fourqueen said of Team BYRA. “We’re really just a bunch of misfits and are definitely the worst-dressed crew on the race course, but we’re sharing the fun and changing out skippers for each race so we had two different helmsmen today.” Fourqueen noted that they’re keeping a wary eye out for rocks around the islands but otherwise their biggest issue was that the store ran out of beer cans (cases!) in the morning.
Another all J/105 team from Marblehead, MA was enjoying their 4th BVI Spring Regatta. Team Merlin took two line honors, correcting out as two second places. The friends usually sail together in Marblehead’s beer-can races on their J/105. “We love it here!” skipper Alec Torrie said. “The first race was a great tactical battle between two islands on a nice beat, then around Norman Island. We lost the start so it was a battle two thirds of the way around when we were able to cross and hold off a couple of very competitive challenges boat for boat. The second race was pretty unique with a downwind start, we got off the line ok but one of our competitors got a great start so we tangled with them all way around the course which was tough in a dying breeze.”
After three more races in CSA Racing 1 class, Body’s family crew on EL OCASO posted a 2-6-6 to slowly slide from 2nd to 3rd in the overall standings. Talbot’s SPIKE had a variable day, their 7-3-5 kept them in the hunt and at a stable 4th position.
Day 3- A Light Air FinaleCompetitors were only too happy to call it quits after one final race when extremely light air made for very shifty and challenging conditions. Little breeze translated to a very hot day, so a swim and a cold beer was the perfect race substitute for most of the 86-strong fleet.
Chris Haycraft, Commodore of the Royal BVI Yacht Club said, “The beauty of this Regatta is that you are racing against boats you don’t know, so you don’t know how they are going to perform which makes it all the more interesting. I love meeting all the new people who come to BVI Spring Regatta; it’s just a great atmosphere. It’s also been enjoyable to see more of our local ex-pats visiting the event village to see what it is all about.”
Final results in several classes came down to the wire in the last race. The shifty winds produced some crazy results across all classes. In CSA Racing 1 class, Body’s J/122 EL OCASO crew posted another 6th place to hang on for third in class, preserving EL OCASO’s extraordinary record of finishing on the podium in every Caribbean regatta it has ever sailed! Meanwhile, Talbot’s J/111 SPIKE closed fast in the finale, adding a 3rd to their totals to hold on to 4th place overall.
In CSA Racing 2 class, Butler’s J/88 TOUCH2PLAY Racing had a rough ride early, but made the most of the lighter airs in the last two days of the event. They closed their last four races with a regatta-winning tally of 2-3.5-1-3, but not enough to close the gap for the gold. Consequently, they had to settle for the bronze on the podium. Sailing photo credits- Ingrid Abery For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing information
Fun J/Fest San Francisco!(San Francisco, CA)- There was an enthusiastic fleet of J/crews that attended their perennial favorite event on San Francisco Bay- the J/Fest San Francisco. Hosted by St Francis Yacht Club over the April 1st to 2nd weekend, a forty-boat fleet sailed in one-design classes of J/105s, J/111s, J/120s, J/70s and J/24s. The crews enjoyed Saturday evening’s popular Mt. Gay Rum Party, buffet, the great dance band, and Norm Davant’s annual J/Fest Raffle
In general, the conditions proved to be very challenging for tacticians in each fleet. From the starting line, the top teams were looking for the wandering river of spring run-off ebb that snuck through the weak flood tide. Heading out to late ebb away from the shore was sometimes the ticket to the fast lane, and later in the tide cycle, footing to the city front brought some relief, though some boats won both sides and arrived together at the top mark. Yes. Betwixt and between the tacticians fought. Never the twain shall ever meet, except in massive packs of boats at the weather mark!!
Nowhere was this more true than in the famous J/105 Fleet # 1 on SF Bay. Scoring a consistent 4-4-4-5-3 for 20 points, Bruce Stone and Nicole Breault’s TEAM ARBITRAGE won by two points over Jeff Littfin’s MOJO and Ryan Simmons’ BLACKHAWK, with Mojo winning on the tie-breaker, followed by Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION and Theresa Brandner’s WALLOPING SWEDE just one point further back with 23 points.
Said Stone, “This was an amazingly close regatta– five boats separated by three points! In fact, including Rolf Kaiser & Shannon Ryan’s DONKEY JACK with 25 points, each of the top six boats were in contention to take the victory based on the last race. This was also the first time on the podium for Theresa Brandner and we were thrilled to see her progress. The SF Bay fleet had 20 entrants on the starting line for each of the midwinter events, with several new owners, and over 20 entrants in the Spring One Design and in this J/Fest, so that bodes well for the vibrancy of the class.” In the next biggest fleet, the seven-boat J/70 class, it was a nip-and-tuck battle all weekend-long between Peter Cameron’s PRIME NUMBER and Tom Kassberg’s PICKLED HERRING. After winning the first race, Cameron’s crew added two 4ths to quickly erase their early edge on the fleet. In fact, after the first day of racing, it was Geoff McDonald’s 1FA that was leading with a 4-1-3 for 8 pts. Behind them by only one point was a three-way tie for second place at 9 pts each; PRIME’s 1-4-4, PICKLED’s 5-2-2 and Chris Kostanecki’s JENNIFER with 3-5-1! In short, these top five boats all shared the top five placings in every single race! That’s close racing! On the final day, Cameron and Kassberg traded 1-2 placings, with the tiebreaker on 12 pts each going to the PRIME NUMBER gang. Third was Kostanecki’s JENNIFER to round out the podium. The balance of the top five included the Foox family (Justin, Shar, Ben) racing FLOTEK to a 2-3-5-4-3 record for 17 pts to take 4th place and in 5th was McDonald’s 1FA with 20 pts.
For the J/111 class, the duo of Roland Vandermeer & Peter Wagner on BIG BLAST proved to tough to overcome after they posted three bullets on the first day of racing. No matter how hard Nesrin Basoz’s SWIFT NESS crew tried, they were not going to slow them down. In the end, these two boats dueled at the front of the fleet for class honors, with BIG BLAST winning with a tally of 1-1-1-3-1 for 7 pts an SWIFT NESS posting a 2-3-3-1-2 record for 11 pts (a pyrrhic victory for them winning the last day with a 1-2!). Third was determined on a tiebreaker! Taking that battle was Dick Swanson’s BAD DOG over Gorkem Ozcelebi’s DOUBLE DIGIT.
Typically, the J/120s saw “the runaway” and then a tough fight for the balance of silverware. This time, it was Barry Lewis’ CHANCE that closed the regatta with three 1sts and two 2nds to win by a large margin. Second was Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO with 10 pts. As can also happen, there would be enough “chutes & ladders” results in the fleet that there would be a tie someplace! This time, it was for the bronze! David Halliwill’s PEREGRINE and Timo Bruck’s TWIST finished on 18 pts each, with the “winged one” taking the nod over “the twisted”. Finally, the J/24s had a monumental fight for the top of the podium. Tied after the first day of sailing three races were Val Lulevich’s SHUT UP & DRIVE and Jasper Van Vliet’s EVIL OCTOPUS at 5 pts each. After a virtual match race on the last day, Val’s SHUT UP & DRIVE crew took a 2-2 to finish with 9 pts and take the title. Losing that battle was Jaspers’ EVIL-doer’s, taking a 4-1 to settle for the silver. Third was Darren’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR with 13 pts. For more J/Fest San Francisco sailing information
Bright & Light Warsash Spring- Act IV(Warsash, England)- Race Officer Peter Knight summed up day four of the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series as "a testing day for competitors and committee boats alike!”
It was set to be a challenging day on the Solent; a sunny spring day, but with a forecast of 5-10 kts of breeze dropping towards lunchtime and tides at about 95% of full springs!
White Group classes and IRC4 started near Royal Southern with a light Northerly breeze averaging around 350 degrees, but periodically flicking left and fading before going back to around 350 and strengthening slightly. The first two White Group races were set on an axis of about 350, but for the third race, the course had to be adjusted as the breeze trended left towards Southampton Water.Black Group classes started near East Knoll, with the wind initially about 10 knots NNE and dropping to 5 or 6 knots by midday. Courses set were a beat to Coronation, followed by round the cans courses shortened at East Bramble as the wind faded. IRC1 and IRC2 did about 12 miles on their shortened course, IRC4 about 9 miles and the remaining classes around 9.3 miles.
As the breeze dropped, cross-tide runs and spinnaker reaches taxed tacticians as the puffs and lulls made calculating lay lines difficult, and noticeably at East Knoll some boats had a slog to get back to the mark against the flood tide, after getting too far east.
The course for the IRC1 and IRC2 classes was put at risk when a laid inflatable Spring Series mark was removed by “a third party”, as Peter Bateson, Series Chairman politely explained. "Fortunately the race committee discovered this in the nick of time and substituted a rib with an “M22” flag. The five leading boats had to sail a few extra yards, but it appears that the order of results was fortunately unaffected."In IRC1 KESTREL (J/111 - Simon Bamford) had her first win of the series, after a string of thirds, with JAGERBOMB (J/111 - Paul Griffiths) second. As a result, KESTREL is biting at the heels of the leader and lies in a close second.
The J/88s had an individual recall, but all boats restarted correctly and the finishing order was J-DREAM (David and Kirsty Apthorp) first, with SABRIEL JR (Dirk& Dianne van Beek) in second place, and EAT SLEEP J REPEAT (Paul Ward) in third.IRC3 also saw an individual recall. The J/92 J’RONIMO (David Greenhalgh) was first with the J/97E JUMBLESAIL 2 (Rachel & Robert Hunt) third.
The J/109s had some drama with the series leader JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks) touching the ground near Calshot Spit and sticking hard enough that she had to watch the fleet sail off and away! This left JAYGO (Mike & Susie Yates) and JIRAFEE (Simon Perry) fighting it out at the front of the fleet. In the end, JIRAFFE took JAYGO on the final beat to win with MOJO RISIN’ (Rob CotterilL) in third. JYNNAN TONNYX now lies third overall, with JAGO leading the class followed by JIRAFFE, but with only one point between the three of them!
Meanwhile, in the world of White Group racing, it was a tale of two fleets, one tight, one a runaway after a total of nine races. In the J/70s, David Mcleman’s OFFBEAT is sailing a steady series and is leading based on a tiebreaker at 42 pts each with Patrick Liardet’s COSMIC. Sitting in third is Phil Chandler’s BLACKJAX with 60 pts, fourth is Andrew Barraclough’s JENGA 8 with 69 pts and in fifth is Marshall King & Ian Wilson’s SOAK RACING at 84 pts.Meanwhile, over in the J/80 fleet, Jon Powell’s BETTY is handily leading their fleet with just 10 pts after 9 races! Yowza!! In second lies Mike Lewis’ JESTER with 16 pts and in third place is Terence O’Neill’s AQUA-J with 21 pts.
Nothing is set in stone in most of the classes as we head into the last two Sundays of the Spring Series, and see the start of the Crewsaver Warsash Spring Championship on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th April continuing after Easter on 22nd and 23rd April. Sailing Photo credits- Close Hauled Photography. Media enquiries to: Louise Nicholls, t: 07825 586109 e: louise@solentpr.com For more HELLY HANSEN Warsash Spring Series sailing information
Italian J/24 National Circuit Report(Rome, Italy)- Sailing off their familiar port of Anzio & Nettuno, southwest of Rome, a fleet of twenty-four J/24s took part in the first installment of their five event Italian J/24 National Championship. After seven races in the three-day series, it was the LA SUPERBA team from the Italian Navy that won the event by a landslide scoreline of six 1sts and one 2nd! Their team was comprised of skipper Ignazio Bonanno and crew of Simone Billete, Alfredo Branciforte, Francesco Picaro and Vincenzo Vano.
“On the first day, the weak wind allowed just two races. Then, on Saturday, characterized by winds up to 15 kts and big waves, we completed four races. Unfortunately, on Sunday, after one race we had to get back to shore because of the strong storm,” explained the President of the Italian Class J24 Pietro Diamanti. “In the name of all competitors, I want to thank the race committee chaired by Anna Sargenti, always friendly and a star of our class. Thanks also to Michele Micalizzi who, assisted by Francesco Facci, presided over the protest committee."
The winners of the first and last races was ITA 447 PELLE NERA sailed by Paolo Cecamore and skippered by the Soling World Champion, the Hungarian Farkas Litkey; they took second place with 17 pts. Third was Diamanti’s JAMAICA with 22 pts total. Rounding out the top five were Massimo Mariotti’s AVOLTORE (skippered by Francesco Cruciani) with 27 pts in 4th position and in 5th place was Vincenzo Mercuri’s MOLLICONA (helmed by Angelo Crepoli) with 35 pts.
With this victory, the crew of LA SUPERBA are also the first qualifier worldwide for the 2018 J/24 World Championship in Riva del Garda on Lago di Garda- that, by the way, includes as one of its sponsors the Vatican City of Rome and maybe even Vincenzo Onorato’s family business- MOBY LINES! Count your fortunate blessings, now, for such a generous group of supporters! For more Italian J/24 Class sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
-----------
* It is with great sorrow the J/24 Class and J/Boats shares the news of Reid Stava’s passing on Saturday, March 25. He passed away at a cancer center in Rochester, New York. Reid loved J/24s and was a well-known supporter of the Class with his willingness to assist in providing technical information, including measuring and serving as a race officer at many District 7 regattas. He most recently served as the USJCA Technical Chair. Reid was highly respected by his peers in the Class and will be greatly missed.Reid was a native of Cleveland, OH. He spent his formative years racing Lightning's on Lake Erie with his father, Robert, who was also Commodore of Mentor Yacht Club. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree in Math/Physics from the University of Rochester, working as an engineer at Graflex, Singer and later Xerox from where he retired in 2006.
An avid sailboat racer and Principal Club Race Officer of the Rochester Yacht Club, he also served for 28 years as Chairman of the J/24 Class Association where he developed a standardized method of training boat measurers for J/24 class one design sailboat, traveling internationally as their chief measurer. A man of varied interests, Reid was an expert ship model builder, enjoyed building train sets, photography, travel, woodworking and, of course, his custom Harley Davidson motorcycle!! Reid’s obituary is here.
J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.
* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand 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.
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
|
