J/111 Speedster @ San Diego Show (San Diego, CA)- This weekend, from July 14th to 17th, JK3 Yachting will be hosting an on-going introduction party at the San Diego Boat Show for any of you who wish to take an up close and personal look at the J/111 in San Diego. For anyone in southwest America, it's a great opportunity to drop in and talk to J/111 sailors who can describe that rare and unique experience that is J/111-- a truly modern, fun, fast, easy-to-handle "offshore sportboat" that has 6 foot standing headroom and enough room to have a party comfortably in the main cockpit or down below around the enormous main cabin. Take a peak, you won't be disappointed! For those who've experienced 15-23 knots offshore downwind on a J/111, they simply cannot believe that comfort and speed like this could ever co-exist! Truly a next-generation offshore speedster and one-design class. For more information, please contact JK3 Yachting- Jeff Brown- ph- 619-224-6200 or email- jeff@jk3yachts.com
Two’s Company: Fastnet Double-hander Preview(Cowes, IOW, England)- Two-Handed racing has seen a rise in popularity in offshore racing and the 2011 Rolex Fastnet Race certainly reflects this with 31 entries this year. Nick Martin, RORC Rear Commodore will compete in his 5th Fastnet with his J/105, DIABLO-J, four of which have been Two-Handed. DIABLO-J is currently at the top of the RORC Season's Points Championship leader-board in this class:
"We've all been inspired by the great solo sailors of our time and RORC's Two-Handed Class continues to support and provide the opportunity for many of us, typically corinthian sailors with full-time careers, to experience challenging and adventurous competitive racing. An extensive program allows us to pitch ourselves against IRC boats of all classes, both Two-Handed and fully crewed alike. It's highly rewarding, especially when you finish ahead of fully-crewed boats," explains Nick. "It is the dream of many sailors to qualify & compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race, so to achieve this in arguably the most challenging class, can be regarded as a pinnacle for many. It's fantastic that we have attracted a large fleet this year and in my opinion, this has become the most competitive of all fleets."
Another competitor, Peter Olden, said: "The challenge of racing double-handed is probably the main factor, particularly in a long distance race where many hours will involve sailing the boat single-handed. The logistics, time and cost of getting a crew fully trained, qualified and equipped, particularly for the modern Fastnet Race are significant. I am certain this is a key driver. Technology has also played its part, for example, modern plotters, computers and AIS save a great deal of time and anxiety, also modern autopilots (properly calibrated) will do amazing work". For more Rolex Fastnet Double-handed sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Extraordinary to think that simultaneously four major offshore yacht races were taking place around the world this past week. The "premiere bluewater" events- Transpac and Trans-Atlantic were both in various stages of progression for their competitors. And two large regional events were also sailing simultaneously, the RORC's Cowes-Dinard-St Malo and the Marblehead to Halifax Race! That's thousands of people pursuing with single-minded determination to prove who's having more fun sailing in a sleep-deprived state and sleeping on sail-bags or soggy salt-water encrusted bunks and clothes (except Maltese Falcon's crew, of course). Then, for those one-design around-the-cans sailors who prefer their own bunks and showers each night (and perhaps a cold beverage of sorts), the J/24s were simultaneously also hosting the J/24 UK Nationals in Weymouth, England and the J/24 Canadian Nationals in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. And, just across Lake Ontario in Canada, the J/22s were hosting their Canadian Nationals in the former Olympic Sailing site in Kingston, Ontario! Not to be left out were the J/80 contingent, having just completed their J/80 World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark and their J/80 Northwest Championships just north of Seattle, Washington. Yes, it was a busy and fun week for J Sailing worldwide.Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below 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:
Jul 14-17- San Diego Boatshow (J/111)- San Diego, CA- http://sandiegoyachtandboatshow.com/Jul 16- Chicago-Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL- http://www.cycracetomackinac.com/
Jul 16- Lake Ontario 300- Port Credit, ONT- http://www.lo300.org/
Jul 17-22- Whidbey Island Race Week- Whidbey Is, WA- http://whidbeyislandraceweek.com/blog/
Jul 23-26- J/22 Europeans- Travemunde, Germany- http://www.j22kv.de/
Jul 23- Port Huron-Mackinac Race- Port Huron, MI- http://www.byc.com/mack
Jul 23-24- Youngstown Level Regatta- Youngstown, NY- http://www.yyc.org/
Jul 28-31- Marblehead NOOD Regatta- http://www.sailingworld.com
Jul 28-Aug 1- Sydney Boatshow (J/80, J/111)- Sydney, Australia- http://www.sydneyboatshow.com.au/
Aug 5-7- Buzzards Bay Regatta- S Dartmouth, MA- http://www.buzzardsbayregatta.com/
Aug 10-13- Chester Race Week- Halifax, Nova Scotia- http://www.chesterraceweek.com/
Aug 10-14- J/105 Northamericans- Marblehead, MA- http://www.j105northamericans.com/
Aug 14- Rolex Fastnet Race- Cowes, England- http://www.rorc.org/fastnet/index.php
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Spanish Teams Sweep J/80 WorldsCamino, VDP, Martinez, Tabares Go 1-2-3-4!
(Copenhagen, Denmark- July 8th)- As one of the world's leading one-design keelboat classes, this year's J/80 World Championships did not disappoint. With sixty-eight competitors participating in a world-class regatta sailed by some of the top sailors in the world, most sailors expected the top Europeans to factor in amongst the leaders. With multiple Olympic and World Champions participating as skippers or tacticians and the best sailors from Spain sailing as a team, too, it was also expected the Spanish teams would be amongst the leaders at the end of the regatta. In fact, the script for this "movie" played out nearly the same as it has in past worlds.
The last day racing dawned with grey skies, easterly winds of 10 knots and rain pouring down in Dragor, but that was not going to stop the Royal Danish YC's PRO from pressing forward to complete yet another challenging World Championship. One where the actors were nearly the same as in the past four championships, but with roles swapping as to the new "cinderella story" and who would be the "new sheriff in town" for 2011.
After four days and nine races of excellent sailing in conditions that saw light to moderate winds for the entire event, it was clear the Spanish sailors are not only fast in a big breeze and big waves, they're also quite fast and smart in shifty, wind streak, "drag race-type" sailing conditions on the Baltic Sea where the winds never exceeded 12 knots! Showing their extraordinary versatility was the new sheriff, World Champion for 2011, Ignacio Camino's team sailing their renown NEXTEL ENGINEERING to a very well deserved win over some extremely tough competition. Ignacio and crew only had to get two good top 10 finishes on the last day to win, finishing with a 4-6 to win his second J/80 World Championship, the second Spanish sailor in a row to do so (countryman Pichu Torcida won the 2010 J/80 Worlds in Newport, RI in epic conditions). They finished with a total score of 34 points to win by 10 points over the second place boat.
The Cinderella (and family) story of this year's Worlds has to be the remarkable comeback of Jose Maria van deer Ploeg (a.k.a. "VDP") sailing his boat GREAT SAILNG. Jose started off the series on the first day barely in the top 20 with a 27-17-11, disappointing to say the least. Thereafter, from day two to day four, Jose's team (including his young son) simply smoked the fleet! Perhaps, near total domination and a "schooling" of the fleet may be a better perspective regards how well Jose's team sailed the last six races. How about a scoreline against Olympic medallists and World Champs in multiple classes that would be the envy of any team sailing in Dragor-- a 5-1-5-2-2-1 to finish with 44 points and win a tie-breaker with another Spanish team-mate Carlos Martinez (himself a former World Champion). Proof that "family teams" can be competitive at a world-class level in one of the world's premiere one-design keelboats!Third in the Spanish sweep of the podium was Carlos Martinez racing MAPFRE with his very strong, well-practiced team. Carlos' team was yet another Spanish team that raced up the ladder after a disastrous first day, starting with a 3-26-4, to then finish off the series with an average of 6th place to finish with 44 points and lose the tie-breaker to Jose Maria!
Fourth yet another Spanish J/80 World Champion, Rayco Tabares and crew on HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA GRAND CANARIAS, the same boat he's raced for years. Amongst the top five, it was apparent that Rayco was the most despondent after the first day's racing- starting off with a disastrous 4-9-52. Nevertheless, Rayco has proven to be a strong, indomitable competitor, and his "never say die" attitude serves him well. Rayco's team confidently bounced back to be the only team to score back-to-back 1st places in races 7 & 8 to jump higher than most kangaroos and finish with 53 points. In fact, had Rayco pulled off a miracle and finished in the top three in the last race, he would've finished 2nd overall! 
Perhaps the "hard luck" award has to go to American Glenn Darden, yet another J/80 World Champion, sailing with his veteran team aboard LE TIGRE. After starting off strongly to lead the regatta for the first two days, a lapse in race 7 on the third day was too much for them to absorb to stay in contention for the top three. Now having to count both an 18th and 15th, Glenn's team nevertheless showed the rest of the world the LE TIGRE team is never to be counted out in the final results. After getting the second best record of the final day behind Jose Maria's 2-1, LE TIGRE's 5-2 bounced them back up the ladder to fifth place overall with 56 points.If Glenn's LE TIGRE team fell on some hard luck in some races, so too the same can be said for Sweden's Ingemar Sundstedt SWE 243. Sundstedt was lying second going into the last day with a very good chance of being the first Swedish team to win the J/80 Worlds, especially since their worst race up to the last day was a 14th and their average finish was about 6th place, the most consistent team on the race course for the first three days! However, the first race of the last day erased all chances of that happening, finishing with a 27th, then followed by a 7th in the last race to end the regatta with 58 points and finish 6th overall.
Finally, mention should be made of the very strong showing by the top French teams, Eric Brezellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2, the current French J/80 National Champion, finishing 7th and Jean Charles Moriceau finishing 8th! Furthermore, it was also the first time the German teams showed both good boat-speed and good tactics, getting the next four places in the standings! German teams finished 9th- Sven Vagt's GER 1027, 10th- Martin Menzner's GER 614 (a regatta leader on Day One), 11th- Bjorn Beilken's GER 1107 and 12th- Malte Christopherson's GER 745. Top Danish team from the host country was Jesper Kragh Jespersen's DEN 850 in 13th, the top Italian team was Massimo Rama's EXTREME SAILING TEAM beating fellow Italian Aldo Samele's CANARINO FEROCE 2 by a HALF point! The top Russian team was Vitaliy Tarakanov RUS 999 in 29th, top British team was Tom Phipps' HAMBLE YACHT SERVICES in 32nd, top Polish team was Pawel Boksa's POL 1187 in 39th, top Netherlands team was Laura Vroon's NED 831 in 36th, top Estonian team was Peeter Meressaar's EST 603 in 56th and top Finnish team was Otto Reittila FIN 1144 in 64th.
In the final analysis, the racing was extraordinarily close going into the last day, as has been the case for at least the past four J/80 World Championships. Excellent world-class sailing by the top fifteen, at least. What was interesting was to see the depth of the teams that could pull off a top three finish during the course of the regatta, particularly in conditions where hitting corners often did NOT pay-off. The top three podium finishes only accounted for 8 top three finishes (of a potential 27 possible!) and only four 1st places (just 44% of the 9 races!). That's stunning fleet depth. Moreover, the only teams that could get two first places in the series were the winner, Ignacio Camino's NEXTEL ENGINEERING and Rayco Tabares' HOTEL PRINCESS YAIZA GRAND CANARIAS. The lowest placing race winner (race #4) was Frenchman Luc Nadal who finished 24th; lowest place 2nd (race #5) was the Danish/American team of GULDFAXE (Tom Klok, Will/Marie Crump and Will Welles) in 17th overall. Lowest place 3rd (race #2) was Italian Naval Academy Sailing Team's Giorgio 
Guzzi who finished 37th. There are few, if any, international one-design keelboat/ sportboat classes of any kind that can demonstrate that kind of fleet depth and ability to sail a boat fast enough, easily enough to fire one into the top three in any given race! That's cool. Moreover, a "family boat", finished second overall- the father/son team aboard Jose Maria van deer Ploeg's GREAT SAILING-- that's even cooler.The two women's teams faired well considering the depth of the competition, the best was TEAM MALTESERS ("The Sweeter Side of Sailing"), Gritt Bjornshave's five women team on DEN 1176 getting three finishes in the 20s and finishing 43rd overall. Sailing Photo credits: Peter Sogaard Photos For more J/80 Worlds sailing information
Fast Halifax Race For J/CrewsJ/40 Wins IRC, J/120s Win PHRF 2
(Marblehead, MA) - Blue skies and fair winds prevailed for the start of the 34th biennial edition of the Marblehead-to-Halifax ocean race Sunday afternoon. Eighty nine sailing yachts, in nine categories crossed the starting line to begin the 363 nautical mile course from Marblehead, MA to Halifax, Nova Scotia. For the first time in the history of the race the starting course took the yachts towards land before turning to port and out to sea. Winds were more than 7 knots as the first class set sail and went up to 10 knots as the start sequences continued. Thereafter, the weather conditions became significantly more challenging for the sailors, described by one as "It was tough sailing. It was thick fog, dark, dark, dark, windy as hell, big lumpy seas on Sunday night." And, it made for a fast race for all.
For the big boats, it was a record-shattering year, especially with an enormous Low southwest of the fleet pushing them faster and faster with strongly developing south-southwest breezes in the 17-22 knots range. The entire fleet essentially aimed easterly for Navigation mark "A" in the Cape Channel just off the southern tip of Nova Scotia called "The Hawk Point" on Stoney Island. Thereafter, the fleet turned left and headed NNE up to Halifax, gybing downwind in big waves and a 12-19 knot breeze before making one final left turn to the NW to head up the channel to the Halifax finish line.Jim Grundy's custom 75 footer BELLA PITA set a new record, finishing Monday in 30:46:52, shattering the old record of 33+ hours set by a Santa Cruz 70 back in 1989. Not only was it a fast race, but a beautiful race. Little if any fog, no drifting, no whales, no icebergs to deal with! The conditions made for a lot of happy crew. Amongst them were the fleet of J's racing, loving the conditions for their large, easy to set a-sails.
In the IRC class, a "classic" cruising J/40 called MISTY and sailed by Fred Allardyce from Watch Hill, RI finished 3rd overall IRC and 1st in class IRC2!! The J/44 VAMP sailed by Leonard Sitar sailed a great race and finished 3rd class, 5th in fleet IRC!
The race course and the wind direction certainly was welcomed by the double-handers! Start out jib reaching. Then turn the corner, set the big a-sail once, sheet in and go! Gybe once to make the heads off Halifax, surf into the finish line! Could it have been any easier? Without a doubt, Peter Rugg and Joe Cooper hailing from Fisher's Island, NY are having fun racing their J/105 JADED this year. Having just won the Block Island Race overall in the Double-handed division, they must be happy with their 2nd in the PHRF Double for the Halifax Race! Also sailing a good race was Jon Knowles and Charlie Poole on the beautiful J/46 ABRACADABRA from Portland, Maine.IN PHRF 1, the two J/130s and the J/133 all sailed good races. Getting the better of the other two was Jeff Eberle's J/130 CILISTA, these veteran offshore campaigners managed to pull off a third overall. In sixth was Kris Kristiansen's J/130 SAGA from Marblehead, MA and in seventh was Raymond Rhinelander's J/133 BELLA J from St Johns, Nova Scotia.
The PHRF 2 division saw a "clinic" on offshore racing by two J/120s from Annapolis, MD, with HERON and SHINNECOCK sweeping the top two spots on the podium. Greg Leonard has campaigned HERON very successfully for years. This year they sailed the Annapolis-Newport and sailed well, so winning PHRF 2 in the Halifax Race is a terrific highpoint for their summer sailing. Second was Jim Praley, who has also campaigned extensively with SHINNECOCK and adds the silver cup to their shelfful of trophies and pickle dishes! In fifth was a good effort by the J/109 HEAT WAVE sailed by Gary Weisberg from Gloucester, MA. Sailing Photos courtesy of Craig Davis For more Marblehead-Halifax Yacht Race sailing information
J/111 JAKE Cruises Australia Debut(Sydney Harbour, Australia- July 8th)- With clear blue skies and a gusty westerly wind averaging 13 to 16 knots, the first J/111 into Australia managed to fit in one of the last winter series club races before the season ends and still allows time to participate in the Sydney International Boat Show. There was time for a quick test sail during the week to make sure all was working after commissioning and tweak the rig with a superb set of sails from the Ian Short sail loft.
The crew met at the CYCA dock and interested sailors passing by delayed departure time for the race with Sydney Amateurs Sailing Club based in Cremorne across the harbour but we made the start line in Athol Bay close to Taronga Zoo just in time.
With a mixture of forty-plus footers to well sailed modified sport boats in the division before we knew it we were off. Great start at the committee boat end and heading West up the harbour trying to spot the club top mark in Neutral Bay. We took a conservative middle lane while concentrating on trimming the boat and getting the feel of her. It was soon apparent we had great speed and height and were first around the top mark. Bear away set onto a starboard run down the harbour to Rose Bay and staying in the channel of wind we noted on the beat. Kite up and pulling then no wind, the channel of wind was moving north, no problem lets gybe--- calamity, “we can’t gybe” comes the call from the bow.
The starboard sheet has tangled and requires re running. We stay on our current course sailing into an ever decreasing wind pattern in the shifty Sydney Harbour westerly and watch as the boats behind set spinnakers and power down the harbour in the new wind lane. A few minutes later we gybe and the race is well and truly on again.
Back in 6th place but in the same pressure as our competitors the J/111 starts to light up and we rapidly start to gain on the front runners. Into the Rose Bay bottom mark dousing the spinnaker we find ourselves in 3rd place.
We settle into the beat back up the harbour and find the sweet spot of the J/111. Despite the gusty weather we are tracking between 7.1 and 7.5 knots and pointing high. By the second time around the top mark we are back in the lead and no mistakes on the run/ reach back towards Sow and Pigs reef where a gust gave us a glimpse of 14 knots boat speed with the 130 sqm. running kite set. We round the bottom mark and are close reaching towards the next mark at Shark Island. Another potential calamity but this time in the form of a Flying Tiger on port tack in a wild broach coming down the run on its side but still scooting across the water. Thanks to our extensive avoiding maneuvers it missed us by a few feet (barely!!).
We leave Shark Island to starboard and look for the finish line close to the zoo. The next boat through is 6 minutes later. We’ve been racing for 88 minutes and wishing the race had another lap.
A resounding success for the J/111’s first race in Australia. Our warm glow and total enjoyment of the boat is fueled by the fact we know there is more performance to come as we learn this easy to sail 36 foot speedster.
If you would like to have a closer look at this exceptional boat she will be on the J/Boat stand in the Sydney international Boat show alongside the J/80 in pen 35 & 36 on the Cockle Bay side of Darling Harbour. Or alternatively call YachtSpot for a private viewing.
Keane Crushes 105s @ SAILNewport RegattaMollicone & Johnstone Winners in 24s, 80s
(Newport, RI)- The three fleets of one-design J's racing this weekend, including fourteen J/24s, eleven J/80s and nine J/105s, were treated to what can be said as incredibly challenging weather conditions for the two days of sailing. Saturday dawned with a gorgeous northwesterly wind blowing offshore that rapidly devolved into a slugfest between the classic southwesterly trying to fill in while the northerly pressure gradient kept pushing back. For the fleets racing offshore, including all three J fleets, it made for an interesting dilemma, whether to chase the last finger of one breeze over another or stick with what you had. Sunday's racing started off with a light northerly that ultimately died and saw the fleet treated to a gorgeous, classic Newport southwest sea-breeze of 8-12 knots.
In the J/105 class, Brian Keane's SAVASANA team was on a tear, demonstrating to the rest of their 105 competitors that they were going to be a big factor to contend with in the pending J/105 North American Championship in Marblehead later in August. Keane's team won ALL four races to finish with 4 pts. Perhaps the surprise story was the strong performance by Sean Doyle on KESTREL, sailing to a 2-3-2-5 for 12 pts. However, Sean's no stranger to being a fleet leader, having successfully sailed college and one-designs for years. The easy winner at the recent Rolex Block Island Race Week, Damian Emery on ECLIPSe, had to settle for third place with a 5-2-4-2 scoreline for 13 pts. Fourth was another J/105 North American Champion, Joerg Esdorn on KINCSEM with a 4-4-3-4 for 15 pts. Finally, yet another J/105 NA Champion finished fifth, Bruce Stone's team on JOUSTER with a 3-6-6-3. Other than SAVASANA, it was very close competition for the balance of the top five.
As anticipated in the J/24s, the Newport teams were led by John Mollicone's 11th HOUR RACING, grabbing four 1sts and one 2nd to win with 8 pts. The surprise to the Newport locals was the excellent performance by Chris Jankowski's STREET LEGAL team, posting a tally of 4-1-2-2-4 for 13 pts. Third was Dave Marshall sailing PEGASUS with a 3-5-5-3-6 score for 22 pts, just one point clear of three other boats that were essentially tied going into the last race! Winning the 4th place tie-breaker was J/24 Champion and World Team Racing Champion Peter Levesque on MOOKIE with a 2-9-3-6-3 score for 23 pts. Peter beat the Zaleski Bro's TWINS from Stamford, CT that had a 5-2-7-4-5 score for 5th overall. Just missing out was another Newport local, Mike Hill on OBSTREPEROUS with a 8-3-6-5-2 record for 24 pts to capture 6th place!
The J/80s saw well-sailed teams that traveled from as far away as California and Texas to have some fun in Newport. Like their J/24 and J/105 colleagues, they too had a runaway winner in the form of Jeff Johnstone sailing LITTLE FEAT to three 1sts and one 2nd for 5 pts. However, they also had five teams that could easily have finished second, with the last race determining who beat whom for the silver and bronze on the podium. Just squeaking by was the FIRED UP team sailed by Gary Camins and Jay Lutz with a 4-5-3-6 record for 18 pts. One point back was Newporter Andrew Burton's GROMIT with a 5-8-2-4 for 19 pts for third. Fourth was Chris Bulger's GOOSE winning a tie-breaker with a 3-2-8-7 for 20 pts, fifth was Bert Carp with a 6-6-5-3 for 20 pts losing the tiebreaker. Sixth was another Texas team, Bruno Pasquinelli's TIAMO team with a 7-4-9-1 for 21 pts! The consensus was that sailing more conservatively would have kept many of the teams even closer, if you can imagine that, and in two cases kept a bullet for those teams instead of giving it up to others-- the big "fly in the ointment" often being the Swan 42s racing on the same course creating havoc amongst the J/80s playing laylines upwind or getting through huge line-ups at the gates to get around them. For more SAILNewport Regatta sailing information
Wicked Good Round The Island Race!J/111 & J/122 Lead Around The Vineyard
(Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard)- Edgartown Yacht Club held its first race around Martha’s Vineyard Island in the summer of 1938, and except for the years of the Second World War the race has been an annual event since then. The 52 nm course is a splendid sail. It is reminiscent of the race around the Isle of Wight in England, which was the course of the first America’s Cup. The distance around Martha’s Vineyard is similar (only a few miles longer); both courses have views of cliffs, headlands, villages and open water; and the tidal currents and wind effects are important in both. The course around the Vineyard passes in sight of the seven lighthouses of Cape Poge, Gay Head, Tarpaulin Cove, Nobska, West Chop, East Chop and Edgartown. In the morning the fleet sails between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket along the east beach of Chappaquiddick. At midday they are in the open Atlantic Ocean with views of the south coast of the Vineyard. In the afternoon, rounding the gorgeous cliffs of Gay Head, the fleet sails up Vineyard Sound which was the second busiest body of water in the world during the age of sail.
The report from Doug Curtiss aboard WICKED 2.0 gives you a great perspective on what it's like to sail the race: "After a short upwind beat, we sailed down the channel between MVY and ACK with chutes set. We reached the sea buoy ahead of the larger faster J/122 PUGWASH sailed by David Murphy. She became our sparing partner for the rest of the day.
The breeze freshened out of the West, so we had a long beat to windward for the 22 miles down the South Shore. We made the turn at Gay Head about 3 minutes behind PUGWASH which put us in very good spot as she owed us about 10 minutes corrected time after a 52 nm race.
We tacked down wind along the North Shore. We held our own until PUGWASH caught some extra tide lift at Middleground by going outside near the shoal where the tide runs stronger. She lead by about 4 minutes as we came past East Chop and headed to Edgartown.
Then disaster. The steady 10 knots out the West we had enjoyed all day began to die, and we saw the big boats out ahead starting to dump their chutes. The breeze came in from the East Northeast almost 180 degrees the opposite direction, with a big calm doldrums in between. We held our spinnaker as long as possible in the old breeze, but then got parked for almost 30 minutes with very little movement. PUGWASH was to windward and in the new breeze. She sailed off out of site to the finish.
We were very happy with a second at the end of the day. Anytime you can knock off a Jim Swartz TP52 VESPER that sails away over the horizon, that is a good day. But the real test was against the larger and faster J/122. Dave Murphy's PUGWASH is a well sailed boat and we were in the hunt till the very end. Hoping for a rematch at Buzzard's Bay Regatta in August!"
After PUGWASH's victory and WICKED 2.0 finishing second in PHRF class, other J's sailing in PHRF A included 3rd place finisher URSUS MARITIMUS, a J/120 sailed by Jim Masiero, beating out the world-famous VESPER/QUANTUM RACING TP52 sailed by Jim Swartz (a California VC renowned for making the first investment into FACEBOOK!). Fifth was yet another J/120, Stephen Besse's APRES.
In PHRF B, Ted Herlihy's J/109 GUT FEELING walked off with handicap honors in their class. Lying sixth was Nick Aswad's J/105 CLIO and in eighth was Bill Veno's J/130 WALTZING MATILDA.
In PHRF C Non-spinnaker cruising division, the two J/42s sailed all the way around the island seemingly glued to one another. Gaining the upper hand at the end was Tom Townsend's WINDSLIPPER, giving the slip to their earnest colleagues, Kent Nicholas' PANASEA, to finish 4th and 5th respectively. For more Round the Island Race sailing information
Turner Smokes J/24 UK Nationals(Weymouth, England)- The Weymouth Olympic Sailing Center hosted their annual Weymouth Regatta that included the J/24 UK National Championship. The organizers were blessed with beautiful weather, gorgeous breezes both days of racing for all. The J/24s showed up en-masse ready to do battle to determine the 2011 UK champion-- several veterans showed up that included past J/24 UK Champions, like Stuart Jardine from Royal Lymington YC.
After the first days racing in the steady breezes punctuated by long wind streaks, it was self-evident that one team simply had everything dialed in to go fast, stay out of trouble and show their transom to the rest of the fleet. By day's end, Bob Turner's SERCO from Castle Cove SC simply smoked the competition, starting off with three bullets and a second to lead by a large margin. Nipping at their heels and still within striking distance was Mark Penfold from the RYA sailed RELOADED.
The second day of sailing again dawned with good weather and a nice breeze from the southerly quadrants. Again, Turner's SERCO team stepped on the gas pedal, dialed in a 1-2 for the first two races, then simply coasted home in the last two races with a 7-6 to win with 14 points. Brilliant sailing is an adjective that comes to mind to describe their remarkable, somewhat sparkling performance! Maintaining their second position was Mark Penfold's team on RELOADED, finishing with 20 points. A perennial class leader, Stuart Jardine from RLYC sailed his latest generation J/24 STOUCHE to a strong third, narrowly missing out second by one point! Fourth was Darren Stansbury from Saltash SC with 30 points and fifth was Roger Morris on JOLLY ROGER from Parkstone SC. Sailing photo credits- UK Fotoboat.com For more J/24 UK Nationals Sailing information
Transpac Race- 7/13 update(Honolulu, HI)- What a difference a week makes! Even for something so huge and ponderous as the Pacific High that spans thousands of square miles of the northern Pacific and determines the "synoptic winds" (e.g. trade winds) that spawns nightmares for navigators divining the "fastest lane" around the southern part of the high.
Friday's 34 Transpac starters made short work of clearing the west end of Catalina Island and cracking sheets for a track south of the rhumb line, Los Angeles to Honolulu. Already, theirs is a very different race from the one that started on Monday July 4th for the 10 smallest race boats, which include Charles Browning's J/130 BEBE. That race stalled on the first night and crews struggled for days to reach the synoptic breeze that blows down the coast and bends off toward the islands as a classic trade-wind, with BEBE in the lead for about nine days on a boat-for-boat basis!
The 46th running of the biennial Transpacific Yacht Race continues with 50 boats now on the course, sailing a rated distance of 2,225 miles from Point Fermin to Diamond Head. The Pacific High is (at last) nicely formed, growing, and pumping out the breeze that makes for a classic Transpac. And while that's tough for struggling Monday starters, it's better late than never. Keep an eye on how the 200-mile north-south spread plays out for Monday starters. Shown here is a NOAA projection of how the Pacific High will look as of next Tuesday.
By Sunday afternoon, it has been abundantly evident the Friday starters won the luck of the draw - a fast pass through the inner coastal waters and an easy launch into the synoptic wind on the ocean. Each boat's navigator will soon be showing their hand as they "pick a lane" for rounding below the calms of the Pacific High Pressure Zone. To that end, the smaller, slower Monday starters who worked north of the rhumb line, just to keep moving, are likely to be twice-punished. Nevertheless, of the Monday group, the J/130 BEBE is smoking downwind at nearly 10 knots still amongst the leaders of their fleet. And, the J/145 BAD PAK is the leader in their group south of the rhumbline playing a quick game of "catch-up" to the Monday starters.
As of Tuesday, July 12th, the prospect of lighter winds ahead means the north-south juggling act continues to be the great preoccupation. A well-formed High is pumping out some pretty nice trade-winds, but now it's time to adjust, and there is just no way to know until some point farther down the track just who is making the best bets. Farther north, closer to the High, is a shorter course but riskier. Farther south buys better breeze, probably, but at what cost in mileage?
One race navigator commented, "The real test is going to be what happens over the next 48 hours. The wind is predicted to go light, and whoever can keep their light-air concentration is going to make out like a bandit - especially at night. I'm expecting that we'll peel off to the 1A in the wee hours of the morning, and we'll be forced to head slightly north just to keep our boat moving."
More news again soon of this epic race and adventure of a lifetime for many! With contributions from Kimball Livingston- The Blue Planet Times. For Transpac Race Sailboat Tracking For more Transpac Race sailing information and Facebook link
Harris Wins J/22 Canadian Nationals(Kingston, ONT, Canada)- This past weekend, the J/22 class had Kingston YC host their Canadian National Championship in Kingston, Ontario, site of the famous CORK Regatta held every August and also a past site of the Olympic Sailing games. The venue is fantastic for sailing as the eastern end of Lake Ontario almost always generates a reliable southwest sea-breeze in the afternoon that can blow from 8 to 15 knots. In addition, Kingston itself is great place to visit- it's a historic port, home to the world-renown Queen's University and has Fort Henry guarding the western approaches to the St Lawrence Seaway.
A competitive fleet of J/22s assembled for the start of racing Saturday morning. The day started off with light breeze and, ultimately, the wind picked up around 4 pm from the southwest (the classic sea-breeze), enabling the J/22s to complete four races for the day in a great sailing breeze.
Sunday morning started off significantly better with a steady 10-15 knot breeze from the southwest. The J/22’s finished the day with three races, making it a seven race series. Ron Harris, Pete Amos and John Marten, from Hudson, Quebec, were crowned the 2011 J/22 Canadian National Champions, coming in first place four out of the seven races. Gordon McIlquham, Mary Ann Turcke, Emily McIlquham and Meredith Megarry, of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club placed second, and David Doyle, Mark McLean and Lindsay McMurray also of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, came in third. Sailing photo credits- Geoff Webster- PhotoOne Gallery For more J/22 Canadian Nationals Sailing information
Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race(St. Malo, France)- The 164 nm race to St. Malo from Cowes has always been a popular event and this past weekend 177 yachts raced across the English Channel to the famous port where the the race finishes just outside St Malo- the medieval walled port. It was a spectacular start from the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes, England. The impressive RORC fleet got off to a flying start reaching across the line in an awesome display of power. The Race Committee elected to start the fleet to the East to avoid sending the fleet through Hurst Narrows where 30 knots of wind over tide and congestion may well have proved hazardous for the racing yachts. The wind persisted in direction and strength as the fleet sailed down the Eastern Solent to turn to the west and out into the English Channel.
"The wind was forecast to abate and veer to the West, which it did and those yachts that went West made big gains" commented RORC Racing Manager Ian Loffhagen. "The tricky decision was how far West to go and those that got their tactics right held the advantage. The breeze dropped as it veered but the wind held for most of the fleet until they got to Jersey. However, the faster boats had breeze all the way into the finish, this year, the conditions definitely favored the faster boats."
Twenty-four yachts entered IRC One, including three J/133s. Two of them were British boats, Dave Ballantyne's JINGS earning a 7th in class and 13th IRC Overall and Angus Bates ASSYRIAN IV finishing 10th. Just behind JINGS was the French J/133 JIVARO sailed by Yves Grosjean and Alain Roualt finishing 8th overall.
In IRC Two 48 yachts entered in one of the most competitive divisions. Proving their RORC Season Points win two years ago was no fluke, Frenchman Phillipe Delaporte's J/122 PEN AZEN finished fourth in class and 12th IRC Overall, just 8 minutes out of 2nd overall and 34 minutes shy of winning the class. Another French J/122, NUTMEG IV sailed by Francois Lognone finished 9th and yet another French J/122 LORELEI sailed by Alain Catherineau finished 14th. Top British J/122 was Dave Richard's JOLLY JELLYFISH lying in 24th place.
Another hotly contested class racing to St Malo is IRC Three. Nick Martin's J/105, DIABLO-J, currently leads the class for the RORC Season's Points Championship. DIABLO-J's success so far is even more remarkable as the yacht is also sailed Two-Handed. In all 23 yachts sailed to St Malo in the Two-Handed Class. Despite strong showings in the past in this race, Nick and crew managed to score a DNF as the breeze simply shut down after the fast boats finished. Top J/105 was Frenchman Frederic Nadaud sailing VERONIKA in IRC 3 class. Top J/109 was the British team on Greg Nasmyth's JARHEAD in 15th. Contributions from Louay Habib. For more RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race sailing information
Milev Dominates J/24 Canadians(Port Credit, ONT, Canada)- The 23 boat strong fleet of Canadian J/24 sailors were treated incredibly well by their host for the Canadian J/24 Nationals, Port Credit YC. PCYC has to be one of the most gracious, fun-loving clubs on Lake Ontario, renowned for their "can do" attitude, excellent RC/PRO management of races and a club membership totally focused on having fun sailing. Note, this is the same crew that host the largest offshore race of the summer Lake Ontario season- the Lake Ontario 300 that starts this coming weekend.
The 23 teams woke up Friday morning to light air, blistering sun and warm temperatures. Nevertheless, the PRO managed to complete one race and then by 2:00 pm the wind shut off completely. The RC hoisted AP over H and the fleet went back to shore for shade, a dip in PCYC’s pool and re-hydration at the bar. By 4:00 pm a line of wind was spotted coming over the lake from the south west, so the fleet headed out and were able to squeak one more race out of the day. That's awesome RC work, if you go to sail a Nationals, then be ready to go anytime! At the completion of Day one, it looked like Rossi Milev sailing CLEAR AIR/ ORANGE BLOSSOM was a leader to be reckoned with, scoring a 2-1 to lead over Peter Wickwire's team on SUNNYVALE with a 1-3. Just off the pace was Tom Barbeau's NAVTECH.CA with a 4-2.
On Saturday, the forecast called for very light air and the fleet wasn’t too optimistic, however, the wind filled in and by 11:00 there was a solid 9 knots of breeze coming from the east. The Race committee started the race right on time to make the best of the wind while it lasted. On the next 2 races, a persistent veer in the wind caused the race committee to put up ‘charlie’ plus green flags at the top end to indicate the leeward gates where shifted course-side-left. By the third race the wind had dropped substantially, but the waves & slop did not. The Race committee shortened the course and brought the windward mark to 0.9 nm. It was a hard slog up and down the course, and by the time the last boat had finished the fleet was exhausted. Still leading after this long day on the water was Rossi Milev with a 1-2-2 followed by Peter Wickwire's SUNNYVALE with a 3-1-11 and Scott Weakley's REX team working on the comeback trail with a 13-3-1. By 4:30 Saturday, the fleet was back on dock folding sails and finding shade. The wind had completely died so calling it quits when we did was the right call. The fleet was definitely dehydrated and looking forward to the party Saturday night where PCYC put on a great BBQ spread with salads and deserts, and plenty of beer taps flowing.
Sunday morning dawned with a good breeze and the fleet took off to get in two races before the time expiration for the start of the last race. After scoring a 5-5 and holding his principal competitor back, Rossi Milev's team on CLEAR AIR/ ORANGE BLOSSOM from the local J/24 fleet at Port Credit YC were declared 2011 J/24 Canadian National Champions, winning with just 13 points after a toss race. Second was Peter Wickwire's SUNNYVALE crew from Royal Canadian YC with 21 points. Third was another local boat, Scott Weakley's REX team from PCYC with 28 points, winning a tie-breaker over Tom Barbeau's NAVTECH.CA team from Yacht Club Quebec also with 28 points for fourth place. Fifth was the first woman team skipper, Katie Colman-Nicoll sailing QUICK NICK for the host PCYC. All in all, a good showing for the local PCYC boats taking three of the top five. For more J/24 Canadians sailing information
CRAZY IVAN Wins J/80 Northwests(Anacortes, WA- June 11)- This international contest was attended by four boats from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, two boats from the Seattle Sailing Club, one boat from Idaho, and two more boats from the San Juan Islands.
Mike Brewis, fleet captain, enjoyed playing host on foreign shores at the Windermere Regatta hosted by the Anacortes Yacht Club. The first day saw a 2 hour delay due to a lack of wind, but racing got underway with all nine J/80s on the line – a first in the Northwest! The first day’s racing was won by Don Sargent on EXCITABLE taking two bullets in close competition. The Canadians held all of the four top spots after the day’s racing!
Sunday saw the return of the owner/skipper Chris White on CRAZY IVAN who had attended his son’s graduation the day before. He stepped aboard and went 1-2-1 on Sunday to retain his trophy for the second year. Dunnery Best on SHEVA and Don Sargent on EXCITABLE took second and thirds, respectively.Mike Brewis on SWISH and the other Canadian boat, Tara Smith’s JOY RIDE, took the next two spots. The rest of the fleet included William McKinnon on the oldest J/80, SKYE ROCKET, hull #1, Joe Cline on TAJ MAHAL and Michael Sawyer on FEARFUL SYMMETRY – both from the Seattle Sailing Club, and Jerry Judd on GO FISH from North Idaho.
Thanks go to Jerry Judd for hosting a great welcoming party, Mike Brewis for taking care of fleet captain duties, and Chris White for working with the Anacortes Yacht Club and their race committees. Contributed by William McKinnon on SKYE ROCKET.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* Congratulations from the J/Family to George David-- the real "rambling man"! A former J/24 sailor from the 80s, George David, a New York YC member now living in Hartford, CT, simply traded up over time and is now racing RAMBLER 100, a Juan K 100 footer. Kudos to George and team for having set a new Transatlantic Race record of 6:22:08:02 for the course from Newport, Rhode Island to Lizard Point, South Cornwall, a measured distance of 2,975 miles. That's a 15.67 knots average across the Atlantic. That's amazing! It can be said with a straight face that even J/24s can go that fast for 1/100th the price! LOL, perhaps not for 120+ hours!
* Congratulations also due to Ken Read, a multiple J/24 World Champion, for winning the Trans-Atlantic Race on the VOR 70 PUMA- Mar Mostro! PUMA’s Mar Mostro was the second boat to cross the finish line at Lizard Point, Cornwall, England behind RAMBLER 100 and won both IRC Class 1 and IRC overall based on corrected time. At one point topping 30 knots as they flew across the Atlantic in just over 7 days, Kenny simply remarked, “We entered the race with zero expectations, just like the other IRC handicap racing we’ve done this year. We wanted to learn the boat and the crew. Now, here we are in the position of possibly winning a race that we didn’t expect to win. We’re pleasantly shocked. We didn’t break anything, the sails held up, the team is certainly coming together, and there’s not a single negative to this race. It was a great experience.” To follow the PUMA Mar Mostro Sailing Team visit- http://www.puma.com/sailing
* Another J sailor, "Dr Laura" Schlessinger is not sailing her J/100 nor her new J/105 in the Transpac Race. Instead she got a new 49 foot "ride" called Katana that was built "for this race". Dr Laura is a former motor-boating enthusiast who comes to sailing with the passion of a convert. "I never thought I'd like sailing," she says. "I gave it a try, just a try, when I moved to Santa Barbara and I was shocked. Immediately, I fell in love with it. Sailing empties you of the daily junk, and that's the meaning of life. To put amazement into every day." (Editor's note- at one point she owned and sailed THREE J's- a J/92, J/100, J/125. She's now down to just two- the J/100 and the J/105-- and her self-declared "first love" is the J/100).The J Cruising Community
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/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"
* 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).
- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).
- 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). Check out there recent travels- now past Fiji!
- 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.* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever- http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/
Featured Boats
J/122 GAMBLER For SaleA 2008 J/122, Gambler has the three cabin layout, and the optional light grey deck. White topsides and cherry interior. The light grey deck really cuts down on the glare, the boat looks great and is in immaculate condition.
Gambler's owner has prepared this boat to race at the highest levels and her race results show it:
-2011 Charleston Race Week winner: PHRF Class B winner. 4 Bullets!!!
-2008 NYYC Annual Regatta-3rd
-2008 Sperry Topside regatta-1st
-2009 NYYC Race Week-2nd
-2009 J122 North American Championship-1st
-2010 Texas Race Week-2nd
-2010 Sperry Topside Regatta-2nd
Gambler may have the best winning record in the US topped by the 2009 North American championship! In addition the owner has been on a scheduled sail program with North Sails and the inventory has been continually updated each year, including 2011. For 2011 the owner has purchased the new 3Di carbon sails from North Sails. This boat is also set up to race offshore and includes complete foul weather for 10, Gill life jackets for 10, along with offshore jacklines.
The factory options are: light grey non-skid deck, Lewmar Carbon Wheel and Opening ports-aft face of cabin. Don't Gamble and miss out on this well prepared and race winning J/122. This is truly a step aboard and sail to the start line, or cruise across the ocean. Please contact Scott Spurlin at J/Boats Southwest- email- scott@JBoatsSouthwest.com or phone- 512-335-2391
About J/Boats
Started in 1977, J/Boats continues to lead the world in designing fun-to-sail, easy-to-handle, performance sailboats that can be enjoyed by a broad spectrum of sailors. The International J/24 has become the most popular recreational offshore keelboat in the world with over 5,400 J/24s cruising the waves. Today, there are 13,000+ J/Boats, ranging from the International J/22 to the J/65 and ranging in style from one-designs to racers, cruisers to daysailers and, of course, the ubiquitous J sprit boats- J/Boats' innovation in 1992 for easy-to-use asymmetric spinnakers and retractable carbon bowsprits (J/80, J/92, J/95, J/105, J/109, J/110, J/120, J/122, J/130, J/133, J/125, J/145, J/160).J/Boats has the best track record in sailing for innovation and design as evidenced by: 15 Sailing World/ Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards in 14 years; 2 SAIL Awards for Industry Leadership; 2 American Sailboat Hall of Fame Designs (J/24 & J/35); and the three largest ISAF International One-Design keelboat classes (J/22, J/24, J/80).
Counting crew, every year there are over 100,000 friends to meet sailing J's, populating the most beautiful sailing harbors and sailing the waters of 35+ countries around the world. Sailing is all about friends. Come join us and expand your social network everywhere! For more information on J/Boats.
Read Kimball Livingston's SAIL update on the J/Boats story- A Band of Brothers
