U.S. J/70 Youth Championship Preview
(Newport, RI)- The inaugural U.S. J/70 Youth Championship will be taking place this weekend from August 10th to 13th, hosted by the amazing team at SAIL NEWPORT at their extraordinary Fort Adams Sailing Facility in Newport, RI.
Nine teams are participating from across the country, including teams from California to Maine, and from northern Michigan down to southern Florida. The teams qualified by sailing in major regattas across the country, including many of Sailing World’s famous NOOD Regattas- San Diego, Annapolis, Chicago, and Marblehead. What was notable about many of the youth teams were their remarkable performances against some of the top J/70 teams across America, many finishing in the top half of large “open” J/70 events that included some of the world’s top professional sailors in the J/70 class (many of them Olympic Medallists and World Champions in various classes).
The teams qualified for their sailing clubs in the hopes of winning one of the most unique prizes in the world of sailing- FREE use of a J/70 for your sailing club for an entire twelve (12) months! FREE to use for the youth keelboat program, for members to race in J/70 events, to introduce women sailors to the easy-to-sail J/70, and so forth- in other words, the only limitation for using the J/70 is your imagination!
From the West Coast, the sole representative is the Santa Barbara YC from Santa Barbara, CA. From the Midwest is the Little Traverse YC from Harbor Springs, MI. There are two teams from Florida, the St Petersburg YC in St Petersburg, FL and the Coral Reef YC from Miami, FL. From the Chesapeake Bay are two teams, the Annapolis YC from Annapolis, MD and the Severn Sailing Association from Eastport, MD. Finally, from the northeast are three more teams, Eastern YC from Marblehead, MA, MudRatz Sailing Club from Stonington, CT, and Sail Newport from Newport, RI.
The teams are looking forward to a short-course, college-style racing format- “stadium sailing” at its best right off Newport Harbor, between Goat Island and Rose Island just south of Newport Bridge. On-shore at Goat Island is an enormous, New England-style, open-air pavilion to watch the racing taking place in front on Narragansett Bay. Up to 27 races are planned for the nine teams, so it will be “thrill-a-minute” racing, each one taking just 15-20 minutes each.
Today, Tim Healy and Will Welles from North Sails provided an on-the-water clinic for the J/70 Youth teams. It was time well-spent for many, as the youth teams grilled both Tim and Will (each J/24 World Champions and Tim the first J/70 World Champion) about nuances in boat-handling and trimming.
The weather forecast is promising, with mostly southerly winds, sunny skies, and between 8-15 kt winds each day! The Sail Newport PRO will be Kevin Dooley, the Offshore Racing Coach for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Kevin is the principal PRO for all major USCGA events- like the famous Danmark Trophy, all J/70 events on the river, all team racing events (where 60+ races a weekend are not uncommon), and all offshore events for the big boats.
This event can only happen with the help of some amazing people and sponsors. For starters, “thanks” to Bob Johnstone’s MJM Yachts for providing the winning prize- the J/70 for FREE use by a sailing club for 12 months. If some sailors might recall, Bob J. was responsible for starting the first U.S. Youth Championships in Wilmette, IL back in 1973 in both 470s and Lasers. Many of the world’s top sailors today were participants in those first three years in Wilmette- including Augie Diaz, Carl Buchan, and Peter Commette. In addition, Peter and Olaf Harken from HARKEN in Pewaukee, WI are significant contributors to the “youth movement”, promoting their “Blockheads” sailing program for youth teams. North Sails is providing sails for the event, thanks to past 5x J/24 World Champion Ken Read, President of North Sails and Tim Healy, Chief of the One-Design Division. Ed & Becky Furry’s SAIL22 is providing regatta support as well as their J/70 as one of the provided boats for the regatta. Ben Klatzka’s PREMIERE SAILING LEAGUE is a supporter and has promoted J/70 sailing league programs in the USA, including Grosse Pointe YC’s “stadium sailing” events in 2017. For more U.S. J/70 Youth Championship sailing information
SAILING Champions League- St Petersburg Preview(St Petersburg, Russia)- From a field of more than 200 sailing clubs all over Europe, 50 clubs from 13 different countries have qualified for the SAILING Champions League (SCL) 2017. The top clubs will sail in two events (Act 1 – St. Petersburg and Act 2 – St. Moritz) going for the much sought-after start places in the final in Port Cervo. The regattas are fleet racing competitions, sailed in eight boats, all of the one-design J/70 class. Today Act 1 starts in St. Petersburg.
21 of the qualified clubs from all over Europe will be attending this weekend (11 – 13 August) at the hosting club, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. The top clubs will compete in the final, sailed in the very center of St. Petersburg, right in front of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Among the participants are teams such as the Cape Crow Yacht Club (Swedish Champions 2016), Frederikshavn Sejklub (Danish Champions 2016) and Lord of the Sail– Europe (Russian Champions 2016). Some top sailors will be there, including Johannes Polgar, competitor at the 2008 Olympics in Xingdao, who is representing one of the two German teams (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein). Short races in identical J/70’s over a standard course are sure to provide the tightest competition and plenty of excitement for spectators.As a technology partner of the SAILING Champions League, SAP is providing professional livestream coverage with expert commentary. On Saturday and Sunday, the races will be shown live on the Internet from 12:00 local time (12:00 GMT+3) onwards: www.sailing-championsleague.com. International sports reporters and sailing pros will comment live on the races, using SAP’s Sailtracks tracking technology, graphics and analytics to make the racing easily accessible to everyone, sailors and general viewers alike. All results are available at www.sapsailing.com.
The primary regatta sponsor is Gazprom- a global energy company focused on geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, sales of gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as production and marketing of heat and electric power.Being a socially responsible company Gazprom is supporting Russian sports at all levels. As a general partner of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club since 2013, Gazprom devotes much attention towards the development of sailing in the Northern Capital and Russia at large. Supporting different local and international events, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and Gazprom aim at establishing St. Petersburg among the top sailing cities of Europe.
From 2017, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and Gazprom together with its subsidiary, Nord Stream company, become partners of the National Sailing Leagues of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany as well as of Act 1 of the European SAILING Champions League in St. Petersburg in August. Sailing video teaser- by Gazprom for SAILING Champions League For more SAILING Champions League regatta information
J/FEST New England Regatta Preview(Newport, RI)- The 2nd annual J/Fest New England Regatta is taking place in the waters of southern Narragansett Bay; the entire SAIL NEWPORT organization is turning out in full force to support this years event in Newport, RI! Following in the footsteps of the fun-loving event held last year in the northern bay by Bristol YC, in partnership with Barrington YC, local J/sailors are looking forward to another fun event on the Bay!
With Newport now enjoying a “real summer”, hot days/ cool nights, and great sea breezes, J/Sailors have responded in droves, with 55 boats participating! On Friday is the celebratory J/24 40th Anniversary Round Island Race with twenty-one entries! Then, on Saturday and Sunday there are the combined one-design classes for J/22s, J/24s, J/30s, J/105s, J/70s, J/109s, and PHRF handicap racing.
In the J/22 class, a half-dozen boats are registered with some hot talent on the line; like Peter Levesque’s DUSTY from Bristol, RI and Cory Sertl’s WHARF RAT from Conanicut YC in Jamestown, RI.
After celebrating their 40th Anniversary Around Jamestown Island Race, the J/24s will be looking forward to good around-the-cans racing. Top crews include Steve Kirkpatrick’s BUCKSHOT, Tim Corbett’s ESKIMO SISTERS, Ken Porter’s crew from Valle de Bravo, Mexico on MONSTER FISH, Erica Beck Spencer’s SEA BAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM, Steve Wood’s TASMANIAN DEVIL, and Dave Coppe & Jeff Johnstone’s USA 5283.
The small fleet of J/30s includes Chris Tate’s BLITZ, John Howell’s GOOD NEWS and Jim Hilton’s KAOS. Sailing J/70s includes current World Champion Joel Ronning from Wayzata, MN, Rachel Bryler’s JUNKANOO, and Chris Murray’s LUCKY.
The fleet of J/105s includes the Buzzards Bay J/105 Champion, Nicole Breault’s GOOD TRADE from St Francis YC in San Francisco, CA and Fred Darlington’s TONTO from East Greenwich YC.
The J/109s have a good fleet of nine boats, including Jon Rechtschaffer’s EMOTICON from Montclair, NJ; Ted Herlihy’s GUT FEELING from New Bedford, MA; Carl Olsson’s MORNING GLORY from Larchmont, NY; Bill Kneller’s VENTO SOLARE from Newport, RI; and Brooke Mastrorio’s URSA from Mattapoisett, MA.
In the PHRF world, the J-Asym class includes Kevin Dakan’s J/110 MEMORY, Bill & Shannon Lockwood’s J/80 SHENANIGANS, EC Helme’s J/92S SPIRIT, and Peter Colby’s J/92S STING. In the J-Sym class is Steve Lipman’s J/37C DUCK SOUP. For more J/Fest New England sailing information
Fastnet Race Preview(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The Solent laid on ‘classic’ conditions for the start of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 47th Rolex Fastnet Race. In brilliant sunshine and with brisk westerly winds gusting up to 20 knots, the giant fleet tacked up the western Solent before compressing through the usual bottleneck at Hurst Narrows. A record-sized fleet of 368 boats started the race, 12 more than two years ago, confirming the Rolex Fastnet Race’s position as the world’s largest offshore yacht race.
By mid-afternoon, competitors in IRC Two were favoring the inshore route, closest to St Alban’s Head at 1620 were class favourite Gilles Fournier and Corinne Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA.
The inshore-offshore spread was the great debate amongst the smarter tacticians, strategists, navigators in the fleet. For example, Joan Vila, MAPFRE’s legendary navigator from Buenos Aires, Argentina, confirmed the forecast: “Once we leave the Solent, the wind will blow at around 20 knots. From there, it will drop until tomorrow morning, with the probability of encountering areas of very light wind. As we get closer to Plymouth, the wind will build again.”
One of the growing classes in many RORC offshore events is the Doublehanded Class. In fact, some of the boats are so well sailed that they have proven then can win both the doublehanded and open full crew divisions overall!
Thanks to our modern day lifestyles, a frequent problem facing race boat owners is finding willing and available crew. One solution is to sail with less people, an ultimate expression of this being two-handed racing. Therefore, it is no surprise that the IRC Two Handed class in has swelled, with 60 boats entered.This was also helped by the outcome of the 2013 race, famously won for the first time ever by a two-handed crew - Pascal and Alexis Loison, a French father & son team on a 35-footer.
Dutch two-handed offshore champions, Robin Verhoef and John van der Starre, are entered on the J/122E AJETO! The last three Rolex Fastnet Races they campaigned a J/111, finishing seventh in the 54 boat Two Handed class last time. They acquired their new boat to be optimized for shorthanded racing, with a heavier, deeper keel and less sail area. “To make it easier to sail shorthanded,” explains van der Starre. “And we can adjust the mast while racing, which will be an advantage.”
So why do they race doublehanded? “Why? Because we are both a little bit crazy probably! Robin and I really like sailing shorthanded and it is always a hassle with a big team,” van der Starre explains.
As to how they divide up the labor, generally if one is sleeping, the other goes into solo mode, calling the other on deck for maneuvers. When both are up, they typically play to each other’s strengths: “Tactics is more my part,” says van der Starre. “Robin is little stronger, so he does the heavy stuff, getting jibs up and down and gennakers, etc.”
On board they don’t run a watch system and they do rely on the autopilot. “The first 20 minutes you (the human) is better, but after that the pilot beats you every time,” says van der Starre!
In the huge 60-boat IRC 1 class, two very well-sailed J/133s will be competing for class honors, David Ballantyne’s JINGS and Angus Bates’ ASSARAIN IV.The enormous 65-boat IRC 2 class has two J/111s (Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB and Sebastien de Liedekerke’s DJINN), six J/122E’s (Chris Daniel’s JUNO, David Richard’s JOLLY JELLYFISH, Andy Theobald’s R&W, Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre’s AJETO, & Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakke’s JUNIQUE RAYMARINE), Gilles Fournier & Corinne Migraine’s J/133 PINTIA (leading class in the RORC Offshore Series), Alain Catherineau’s J/122 LORELEI, and four J/120s (Simon Ruffles’ JAMEERAH, Joost van der Wal’s J-QUATTRO, Elin Haf Davies & Chris Frost’s NUNATAK, & Chris Schram’s MAVERICK).
The IRC 3 Class is composed mostly of J/109s, including top boats like Alain Bornet’s J/109 JAI ALAI
and Chris Preston’s J/109 JUBILEE. Hoping to spoil that party is Jonty Layfield’s J/11S SLEEPER 11. YB Tracking video For more Rolex Fastnet Race sailing information
Verve Cup Offshore Regatta Preview(Chicago, IL)- On Friday through Sunday, August 11 to 13, the Chicago YC will host the 25th annual Verve Cup Offshore Regatta. This event will feature three days of offshore buoy racing and a separate one-day distance race. Annually, this event hosts over 100 yachts ranging in size from 25-70 feet, and carry crews from 4-20 racers. During this regatta, the Chicago Yacht Club looks forward to welcoming more than 2,000 racers, family members and friends to its award-winning lakefront Monroe Station Clubhouse.
For this three-day regatta, boats will sail either in a handicap section or in a one-design section. Brag flags and prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each section. The winner in what is determined to be the most competitive section by formula will be awarded the perpetual Verve Cup Trophy. The Verve Cup trophy dates back to 1893 and is the Chicago Yacht Club’s oldest trophy.
Likewise, for the Saturday, August 12, 2017, Distance Race, brag flags and prizes will be awarded to the top finishers in each of the four handicap sections and the first place winner in the fleet determined by handicap will be awarded the 8 Mile Buoy Trophy.
The Verve Cup Distance Race Awards will be given out during the Saturday Sundowner Party, and the three day Verve Cup Regatta Awards, including the Verve Cup Overall winner, will be given out during the Sunday Awards Party.
Thirty of the ninety-five boats racing (about 33% of the fleet) are J/crews. Four one-design classes are sailing- J/88s, J/105s, J109s, and J/111s.
The J/88 class has been enjoying close competition all year, including the recent Chicago to Mackinac Race. Sailing in the regatta are Andy Graff’s EXILE, Ben Wilson’s RAMBLER, and Tim Wade’s WINDSONG.
The J/105s have most of their top Chicago area crews participating, such as Clark Pellet’s SEALARK, Vanessa Gates’ STRIKING, Jon Weglarz’s THE ASYLUM, and Gyt Petkus’ VYTIS.
The seven-boat J/109 class has the Chicago to Mackinac Race winner sailing- Bob Evans’ GOAT RODEO. He will be up against strong around-the-cans teams, such as Peter Priede’s FULL TILT, David Gustman’s NORTHSTAR, Jim Mitchell & Bruce Danly’s TOA (the Overall ORR Chicago Mackinac Race winner), and Jack Toliver’s VANDA III (also a past Chicago Mackinac Race winner)! Tough fleet!
Finally, the J/111s will have all of their top teams racing, past Mackinac Race winners, Verve Cup winners, Chicago NOOD winners and so forth. The racing promises to be fast and fun! Several teams have the potential to be at the top of the leaderboard, like the trio on KASHMIR (Karl Brummel, Steve Henderson, & Mike Mayer), Kevin Saedi & Raman Yousefi’s MOMENTUS, Rich Witzel’s ROWDY, Dan Kitchens’ SKULL CRACKER and Tom Dickson’s WARLOCK.
The sole J carrying the flag in the ORR Division is Rick Stage’s J/35 ALPHA PUPPY. For more Verve Cup Offshore sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
This past week marked the close of the LENDY Cowes Race Week, hosted by the Cowes Combined Clubs and sailed on the notorious Solent off Cowes, England. The event was host for several one-design classes of J/70s, J/80s, J/88s, J/97s, J/109s, and J/111s. In addition, there were IRC fleets for J/133s and J/122s, amongst others. Then, the third event in the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League took place at the beautiful Baltic seacoast village of Larvik, situated on one of Norway’s famous fjords. Then, down in The Netherlands, the J/22s sailed SNEEK Week off Sneek, a small, picturesque coastal town.Over in the Americas, New Bedford YC hosted the Corinthian J/70 National Championship off South Dartmouth, MA, the fleet of thirty boats enjoying three-days of challenging conditions on Buzzards Bay. Then, simultaneously, the New Bedford YC also hosted their famous Buzzards Bay Regatta for a one-design fleet of J/105s and a PHRF fleet that included J/111s, J/109s and J/29s. Finally, out west was the annual “world’s highest regatta,” sailing at 9,200 ft above sea-level; the Dillon YC hosted their Dillon Open for J/22s, J/24s, and J/80s on the Dillon Reservoir, surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
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:
Aug 10-13- U.S. J/70 Youth Championship- Newport, RIAug 11- 40th Anniversary J/24 Round Island Race- Newport, RI
Aug 12-13- J/Fest New England Regatta- Newport, RI
Aug 18-20- Swiftsure Regatta- San Francisco, CA
Aug 18- Ida Lewis Distance Race- Newport, RI
Aug 19-26- AUDI Hamilton Race Week- Hamilton Island, Australia
Aug 23-27- J/111 World Championship- San Francisco, CA
Aug 25-27- Breskens Sailing Weekend- Breskens, The Netherlands
Sep 12-16- J/70 World Championship- Porto Cervo, Italy
Sep 14-17- Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 15-23- J/24 World Championship- Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Sep 22-24- J/FEST San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 24- Oct 1- J/24 European Championship- Lake Balaton, Hungary
Sep 30- Oct 1- J/70 East Coast Championship- Deltaville, VA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Glorious, Stormy Cowes Race Week(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Yet again, the Cowes Combined Clubs had another amazing, diverse week of sailing during their famous LENDY Cowes Week Regatta, sailed from July 29th to August 5th on the Solent- famous for crazy currents and often very shifty breezes. Overall, J/Crews had a great time sailing in light airs to more than epic, “fresh to frightening” conditions all week. Here is how it all went down for the intrepid J/sailors on the Solent.
Day 1- Shifty winds
The opening day of Lendy Cowes Week dawned with bright sunny spells and a westerly breeze of around 10-15 knots. However, a weather front that gave rain to most of southern England moved across the race area at lunchtime, depressing the wind strength. The result was intensely tactical racing with persistence, along with good – and occasionally brave – decisions needed to achieve top results.
By the time of the first start, for the 31-strong J/70 class, the breeze close inshore under the Royal Yacht Squadron had reduced to 10 knots. With a strong east-going stream running, the most aggressive starters held up as close to the line as possible before the gun. A pair of the Royal Thames YC’s boats started on port tack in the better tide close inshore and initially led the fleet away from the line, despite having less wind than the boats further offshore.However, they soon fell into a wind hole and four minutes into the race crossed tacks a few lengths astern of a group of three boats – Ali Hall’s SCEPTRE, Vilija Velyvyte, Sophie Sheldon and Will Jackson’s AURORA, and Guy Stephen’s BABY J – as the fleet made their way towards their first mark. Hall took the winner’s gun in a tight race that saw the first three boats cross the line 16 seconds apart. Nick Phillip’s CHAOTIC took second place and Paul Childs’ F’in MAGIC 2 third.
The class’s second race of the day was over a windward/leeward course, starting from a committee boat stationed near Hill Head on the north shore of the Solent. This was won by a clear margin by Swiss entry Lorenz Mueller’s YCB Team ahead of John Greenland’s JUMBO and F’in MAGIC 2.
After the first two races in their eight-race mini series that’s taking place over the first four days of the regatta, YCB Team is leading the fleet with a score of five points.
“Although I have sailed at Cowes Week many times before, this is the first time in the J/70,” said Mueller. “We qualified within the Swiss sailing league to compete here and the team’s very happy with our performance. Today’s win was all about playing the shifts – I think we tacked on every shift, and it seemed to pay. We’re really enjoying our time here and are looking forward to the next two races tomorrow.”
Day 2- Wild, blustery, sunny!Competitors enjoyed a bright and sunny day with challenging, but exhilarating, racing in a gusty west south-westerly wind in which the gusts topped 25 knots. Many of the larger Black Group yachts finishing on the Royal Yacht Squadron line experienced multiple broaches and spinnaker wraps, much to the delight of the throngs of spectators lining the shore.
The blustery conditions also took their toll of boats across the fleet, with most classes seeing multiple retirements, with reasons including rig damage, groundings and collisions.
Most of the White Group dayboats, starting on the Royal Yacht Squadron line, had to contend with a strong adverse tide. In the J/80 class Chris Body’s MOCKINGJAY and yesterday’s winner, Jon Powell’s BETTY, were closest to the line at the start, with Powell having the benefit of being in weaker tide close inshore. He quickly sealed this advantage with a neatly executed early tack onto port in a favorable wind shift, with Barney Dykes’ JANE following suit just behind.
For the first couple of minutes of their first half-mile long windward leg to Kingston Marine Services buoy these two boats looked as though they were extending away from the bulk of the fleet further offshore. However, JANE stayed on the offshore tack for too long, standing out into the stronger stream offshore and handing second place at this stage back to MOCKINGJAY. BETTY finished unusually far down the fleet, leaving MOCKINGJAY to take first place exactly five minutes ahead of Terence O’Neill’s AQUA J. Felix Trattner’s UKSA 3 took third place.
By the time of the IRC Class 1 start at 1030 the wind was already gusting above 20 knots at it wasn’t long before the gusts in the central Solent were topping 25 knots. The fleet was more spread out along the line than the earlier classes, with boats jockeying more for clear air than a specific end of the line. Marco van Driel’s Dutch J/111 SWEENY attempted to cross the fleet on port tack, but failed and had to tack under a group of second-row starters.The preference in this fleet was for earlier tacks towards the north shore than the two faster classes that started earlier. It was not long before the fleet was short tacking in the shallow water to the east of Lepe Spit.
By the time of their finish, just before 1430, the wind had backed further into the southwest and moderated slightly, with the maximum gusts down to 22-23 knots. Nevertheless, the light displacement asymmetric yachts reveled in the conditions, planing at speeds well into double digits as they sped to the finish.
The top boats enjoyed a close, planing-mode finish, including Tony Mack’s J/111 McFLY that took third on corrected time.
Day 3- Sun, Wind, PerfectionThe Solent magically delivered yet more racing in blazing sun and a perfect southwesterly breeze of 12-16 knots that gradually built to a peak of 20 knots by the end of the afternoon. It was a day of intensely close racing for many competitors, with numerous podium places decided by only a handful of seconds after more than three hours of racing.
It was also the Cowes Week “Charity Day”, supporting the Andrew Simpson Foundation. Inspired by Bart’s Bash, the annual international day of racing for which an overall winner is calculated
Day 4- Gorgeous, classic conditions
A ridge of high pressure over the English Channel brought more bright and sunny weather, with a classic southwesterly breeze, to day four. The first start was for the big yachts in the Sevenstar Triple Crown fleet that are competing some of event’s biggest trophies, including the historic gold Queen’s Cup.
IRC Class 2 also had a clean start, with Nick Southward and John Scott’s J/122 Team WHISKEY JACK making a perfectly timed start, hitting the southern end of the Bramble line at speed.IRC Class 3 also had a clean start. However, the pin end of the line was favored in terms of tide, as boats starting there would emerge more quickly into the strongest favorable tide. Chris Ivill’s new J/112E DAVANTI TYRES took 2nd place, losing by a margin of just four seconds!
This day also marked the end of the eight-race mini-series for the J/70 class that had been taking place for the first four days of the regatta. Subject to protest, Paul Childs’ F’in MAGIC 2 was winner of the J/70 series, on 16 points. Ali Hall’s SCEPTRE was second on 24 points, just ahead of Jack Davies’ YETI, on 24.5 points.
Day 5- Windy, blustery, epic day!There was a lot of fast and furious action on the Solent, with winds hitting 25+ kts again. “On the way out to the start it looked like the Apocalypse was coming, and with a short course, there were a lot of corners coming up really fast,”
In IRC Class 5, Nick Munday’s J/97 INDULJENCE was sitting in 2nd place and was hoping to catch the leader. In turn, he had a 3.5 point cushion on another J/97, Bob and John Baker’s JAYWALKER in third overall.
As it turned out, Mike Sellers and Chris Miles’ J/97 JET got a third for the day. A closely fought match for fourth place saw four boats separated by only 50 seconds. They were led by another J/97, James and John Owen’s JET, while INDULJENCE suffered her worst result so far in sixth place.
Youth Day
Lendy Cowes Week actively supports and encourages the next generation of sailors, as do many of the classes that actively encourage, support and coach young sailors, including J/70s and J/80s. The fifth day also marked the regatta’s Youth Day, which highlights the success of the many young sailors at the event.
This year there are 29 teams in which the entire crew is under 25. In the rankings for the Under 25 trophy, last year’s winner, Jack Davies’ J/70 YETI took fourth place.
Day 6- Squally dayThe Solent delivered big winds to the big boats at their start. A shower, with gusts close to 35 knots, blasted across the start area at the warning signal for the race, creating a bit of chaos, to say the least.
As a result, conditions were declared too severe for the other classes to race, so the day’s racing was canceled.
Day 7- Sunny shorts and shades!
Day Seven dawned sunny and bright and in 10-15 kt winds, the fleet enjoyed a classic gorgeous Solent day on the water.
Day 8- Squally Saturday
The final day dawned bright and sunny, with a west northwesterly breeze of 7-10 knots. All starts took place from the Royal Yacht Squadron’s inner line, with an accelerated starting sequence for the reduced number of entries in Black Group, which finished their points series yesterday.
The forecast included a low risk of the showers that were predicted further north on the mainland also affecting the race area. The cloud built over the mainland shore during the morning, as predicted, but by the time of the first start at 1215 hrs a powerful squall line could also be seen working its way up the western Solent.The postponement signal went up at 1218 for the remaining three starts, with the starting area now pummeled with driving rain and gusts above 25 knots. Many of the dayboats preparing for their starts scurried back into the shelter of the River Medina, while one of the big Cowes Harbormaster’s RIBs was towing in a stricken cruising yacht.
With the rain blowing horizontally through the RYS starting platform, any race officials that could be spared scurried off to shelter, leaving a skeleton crew at the leeward end of the shelter. The lone figure of Cowes Radio’s Simon Vigar was left facing the onslaught, while valiantly continuing to broadcast from the weather end of the platform.The sun was back 10 minutes later and the postponement signal came down at 1229. A stream of boats headed back to Cowes having retired, some with no visible damage, but others with headsails in tatters, plus a Redwing with a broken mast that was towed back by a RIB from the RYS.
The winner of the J/88 class was clearly David & Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM, winning five of the six races sailed. Taking second was Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT and fourth was SABRIEL JR.
In the J/70 class, a win for Jack Davies’ YETI, by just one second over Robbie King’s THE JANITOR cemented Davies’ overall win for the week. They finished ahead of Lorenz Mueller’s Swiss YCB-Team and Paul Childs’ F’in MAJIC 2.
Jon Powell’s BETTY finished the week on just six points in the J/80 class, winning the series three points ahead of Chris Body’s MOCKINGJAY. Terence O’Neill’s AQUA J was a further 10 points further back in third overall.In IRC Class 1, Mack’s J/111 McFLY took third, followed by Martin Dent’s J/111 JELVIS in 5th. That same finish order applied to the J/111 class- McFLY 1st, JELVIS 2nd and SWEENY third.
In IRC 3 Class, the J/112E DAVANTI TYRES ended up in 4th place in a closely fought series. In the IRC 5 Class, the two J/97’s finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, INDULJENCE & JAYWALKER. Taking 5th was the Greenough family’s J/92 J’RONIMO and sixth place went to another J/97- HIGH JINKS. For the J/97 Class, the placings were the same for 1-2-3.
The huge eighteen boat J/109 class saw a command performance by JACK RABBIT, scoring three 1sts and two 2nds on their way to an 11-point margin of victory. After posting a 1-3 in the final two races, DIAMOND JEM took over second place. Then, JUKEBOX continued to sail consistently to take third overall. For more LENDY Cowes Week sailing information
SAVASANA Crowned Corinthian J/70 Champion(South Dartmouth, MA)- New Bedford Yacht Club is hosting the 45th edition of the late summer classic, the quintessential “Buzzards Bay Regatta.” As part of that program, they also hosted the second Corinthian J/70 USA National Championship. The fleet of 30 teams was treated to a wide variety of weather conditions over the three-day regatta. On the first day, it was somewhat classic Buzzards Bay conditions, light winds building up to 9-13 kt winds with heavy chop, particularly on starboard tack. Then, on Saturday, a front was scheduled to pass through with heavy showers, thunderstorms and winds gusting to 35 kts. Fortunately, as the front hit the Atlantic Ocean, it fizzled out and the J/70s saw more southeasterly breezes with winds in the 8-12 kt range and for a brief period of time, gusts up to 20 kts. Sunday dawned
with a gorgeous sunrise and the wind blowing 15-20 kts from the Northwest; racing commence under clear sunny skies and the teams enjoyed very shifty, streaky winds. Excelling in the broad spectrum of weather conditions was the local hotshot, Brian Keane and his SAVASANA team from Marion, MA, winning the regatta by just two points. Taking 2nd was Heather Gregg and Joe Bardenheier’s MUSE, sailing with the two “Stu’s”- Johnstone and Saffer. Third place went to Glenn Darden’s HOSS with Reese Hillard as rock-star bow dude and man about town. Fourth went to Ray and Jenn Wulff’s JOINT CUSTODY and fifth place was Hannah Swett’s all-women crew on SPARKLE.
For more Corinthian J/70 Nationals sailing information
Challenging Buzzards Bay RegattaGOOD TRADE Smokes J/105!
(New Bedford, MA)- The 45th edition of the late summer classic known as the Buzzards Bay Regatta was an exciting event for the J/105 class as well as the big boat PHRF classes.
Perhaps Nicole Breault’s J/105 GOOD TRADE put up the most stunning performance of the regatta. Virtually leading at every single mark in every race, she posted ten 1sts and had to toss out a 1st for 9 pts net! Ouch! That is a spanking of the J/105 fleet. Second with nearly all 2nds and 3rds, was Mark Lindquist’s STERLING. Then, taking third place was Matt & Lisa Schmitt’s HARDTACK.
In the PHRF Spinnaker division, 7 of 10 boats are all J/crews!! Winning the PHRF 1 Class was Doug Curtiss’ J/111 WICKED 2.0, followed by Mark Verville’s J/120 ISURUS in second, Ted Herlihy’s J/109 GUT FEELING in 3rd, Cory Eaves’ J/109 FREEDOM in 4th and Dan Boyd’s J/109 WILD THING in 5th place.
PHRF 2 class saw Ira Perry’s J/29 SEEFEST continue their great performances offshore, taking the silver in their class. They were followed by Tom Sutton’s long-distance traveling J/35 LEADING EDGE- winner of last year’s New York YC Annual Regatta.
The PHRF Non-Spinnaker class had Ken van Colen’s J/30 MOODY BLUE taking a third in class. For more Buzzards Bay Regatta sailing information
Arendals Seilforening Wins Norwegian J/70 Sailing League- Act IIIMoss Seilforening Leads Overall Series
(Larvik, Norway)- The first division of the Norwegian Sailing League sailed their third act at the picturesque seaside town of Larvik, at the base of one of Norway’s many gorgeous fjords. After sailing just eleven races, is was the Arendals SF that easily won by virtue of winning 8 of their 11 races.
In behind them, a lot was at stake for the overall series lead between Moss SF and KNS (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening). Both teams started the regatta in 1st and 2nd place for the series and both desperately wanted to defend their positions heading into the crucial final series being sailed at Moss on September 8th to 9th. Moss managed to sail well and took 2nd in the Larvik event. Meanwhile, KNS had a disastrous time sailing in Larvik, virtually finishing last, taking a 13th place.As a result of the weekend’s final standings, Moss SF continues to lead the overall series with a 1st in Oslo, 1st in Sandefjord, and a 2nd in Larvik for 4 pts total. Jumping into second place for the series is Asgardstrand SF with a 6-3-4 record in the three venues for 13 pt total. Dropping fast like a rock in the standings was KNS, now sitting with a series scoreline of 2-2-13 for 17 pts total. Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League on Facebook here. For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information
Nidam Wins J/22 SNEEK Week Drama(Sneek, The Netherlands)- Over the previous weekend, the famous Netherlands regatta held in Sneek, played host to a fleet of J/22s. The event was hosted by Koninkliejke Watersport Vereniging. Due to the highly variable weather conditions, only two races were completed over the three-day event!
Winning the J/22s was NED 1365 sailed by woman helm Lisanne Nijdam and her crew of Bern Laninga and Susanne Taekema. Finishing second was NED 1514 skippered by Maarten Berendschot with crew of Jesper Overbeeke and Thom van der Starre. Rounding out the podium was NED 1224 helmed by Kim Bos with crew of Pam Rierink and Bas Hemmes. For more SNEEK Week sailing information
Awesome Sailing @ Dillon Open RegattaCAMP ROBBER Steals J/22s, THE DUMPSTER Trashes J/24s, HENDRIX Singes J/80s
(Lake Dillon, CO)- Racing on beautiful Lake Dillon in Dillon, Colorado has to be one of sailing’s most amazing experiences. Sunny days on a crystal clear lake, fed by mountain streams, and surrounded by 12,000 ft high snow-capped Rocky Mountains is simply a spectacular, visual feast for the eyes. Plus, the cool, clear mountain air simply enhances the sensory experience.
The regatta is hosted by Dillon YC, the nation’s highest yacht club at 9,017 feet above sea level, located just west of the Continental Divide, a 70-mile drive from downtown Denver.
As usual, the DYC offers a great schedule of racing, entertainment, food and other special events that makes if fun for all participants and their families.
After five races, it was a clear-cut victory in the J/22 Class for the appropriately named CAMP ROBBER! Stealing the show was skipper Bill Darling’s team, posting an almost perfect score of 2-1-2-1 for 6 pts total to win by an enormous margin of 10 pts. However, behind them it was a full-on dogfight for the balance of the podium. Ultimately, winning that battle was Keith Lawrence’s SHAMELESS with a 1-9-3-3 record for 16 pts. Although he beat SHAMELESS in the last race, it was not enough for Mike Kline’s NAUTI MOOSE to overtake them, finishing with a 6-5-4-2 tally for 17 pts. Rounding out the top five were Cameron & Cooper Robinson’s USA 720 in 4th place with 18 pts and in 5th place was Peter Fornell’s MAYBE LATER with 23 pts.In the J/80 Class, two boats ended up with identical records of two 1sts and two 2nds for 6 pts total- winning on who won last was Kurt Vanderwall’s HENDRIX. Getting the short-end of that stick was Heath Bowden’s RAKALI. Taking third was Keith Tayman’s GOOSE.
Also, getting a near identical score to the other class winners in the J/24 Class was Frank Keesling’s THE DUMPSTER, posting a 1-1-2-1 for 5 pts total. Josh Bowens-Rubin’s ZERO GRAVITY took 2nd with a 2-2-1-2 tally for 7 pts. Then, taking third was Frank Kelble’s BANANA PANTS with a 3-4-3-3 record for 13 pts.
For more Dillon Open sailing information
J/Community
What J/sailors and friends are doing around the world
* J/35 cruising Alaska? For sure! It can be an amazing experience sailing the wild and un-explored waters of the mountainous Alaskan coastline. We recently got a great report on that experience from Krista Howell:“Early August finds us back in our home port of Valdez, AK after our summer cruise. This is our second summer of cruising our J/35 and it has confirmed our decision that it is an excellent boat for us. When we started boat shopping, we wanted a boat that would be fun to sail, capable of working into a headwind and seaworthy enough for some ocean passages including safely crossing the Gulf of Alaska.
We bought our J/35 VENTURE in the Seattle, WA area. She had been used for local racing and day sailing. In the Seattle area we made a few changes that would allow us to move her up the inside passage to AK. A Monitor Wind Vane and anchoring gear were the first two additions. We mounted the primary anchor on the bow with 300 ft of chain that leads back to the windless that is mounted on the cabin top aft of the V-birth hatch so that chain drops down into a chain locker we built in front of the mast, to reduce the weight in the bow. A secondary anchor was added to a holder on the stern. A solar panel, inflatable dinghy, epirb and life raft were also added. A local sail loft changed our racing sails from foil to hank ons. Leaving Seattle, we were a bit worried about how we would actually like cruising a J/35. We had a wonderful first trip north.
In Valdez, we have continued to make more cruising modifications. We live aboard so additional storage down below was needed. We changed the settees in the main cabin by building in cupboards on both sides that matched the width of the shelf that was there. We also modified the storage under the quarter-berths and V-berth to create smaller compartments. A set of three shelves were also added to the corner of the port quarter-birth just aft of the galley for increased galley storage. We have an ice box but do not have any refrigeration. During the summer a cooler fits behind the ladder, between the quarter-births. In the winter, the cooler is moved to the cockpit and a wood box fits in that area. We have a small electronic heater that runs when we are in the harbor but we also have a small Dickinson woodstove that is mounted to the bulkhead at the end of the starboard settee. In this winter climate we fight condensation. The wood stove provides very dry heat and we have a stackrobber mounted on the stove pipe with a small fan that flows warm air into the V-birth. During the winter, we put up large canvas covers that help shed the significant amount of snow that Valdez receives each winter, but are also easy to take down for the wind storms that blow through the harbor each winter.
This summer, we stayed out in the Gulf of Alaska from Prince William Sound to the north end of Prince of Wales Island. From there we traveled down the inside passage as far south as Shearwater, BC. Heading north, we have stayed in the inside passage to visit many small towns, scenic anchorages and natural hot springs in SE Alaska including Glacier Bay National Park before leaving the shelter of the inside passage to cross the Gulf again on our way back to Valdez. We have found our J/35 VENTURE to be well-suited to this type of cruising. When we left Valdez May first, the Gulf of Alaska was filled with series of low pressures that sent gale after gale from the SE moving along the coast. There are a number of bays that we could slip into and wait for the next small weather window before heading south again. The advances in communication now make it easy to get update weather reports even in remote locations. The J/35 design allowed us to easily and safely handle the offshore conditions with two people. Even when sailing her conservatively, she easily glides through the water making good time in offshore conditions handling the large swell and waves that can build in the Gulf of AK. The inside passage is known for shifting and varying wind conditions. SV Venture is fun to sail in these conditions because she sails so well to windward. In the course of the typical day, we alternated between working to windward and downwind sailing as the winds funnel around the islands and through the channels that did required frequent sail changes. Several days we were able to fly the spinnaker for hours at a time. We were able to sail most of the trip with very little motoring.
Back home and preparing to return to work for the winter, we are already starting to plan next summers destinations.
* Ed Sanford’s J/105 CREATIVE sailed this year’s Transpac Race- 2,225nm of full-on downwind racing for most of the time. Ed & Team Creative have sailed over 10,000 miles offshore, and we believe are the first J/105 to reach the Transpac podium and the first to do three Transpac races in a J/105. Bravo! Here is what Ed had to say about their experience:“I have had a interesting progression in life!
In 2013, my wife’s response regarding Transpac was, “I vote no.”
In 2015, my wife’s response this time was, “so, when are you going?”
Then, in 2017, my wife said, “I suppose Andrew is going, too?” Andrew is my son.
I think what I’m trying to say is I think I got a little better bit better each time and she knew I was happier for it.
This year’s race was a priceless journey and one we will remember when I’m two feet from the grave!
My son and I did every off-watch schedule together for the 12 days 19 hours! And, now he is off to college in 2 weeks. He was driving the boat in 20-plus kts with the 110 square meter kite up!
4 hours on 4 hours off during the day, and 3 hours on and 3 hours off at night. I was particularly impressed on him getting out of his bunk with 15 min to go every time to get ready to go on deck!! Amazing, not bad for a teenager!”
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