J/80 North Americans Preview(Annapolis, MD)- This coming weekend, the Annapolis YC will be hosting the 2014 J/80 North Americans on the Chesapeake Bay, from September 10th to 14th. An excellent turn-out of thirty-two boats are registered that includes many of the class’s top teams in the past few years, past Key West Midwinter, North American and World Champions. The teams are looking forward to the long weekend of sailing as excellent practice and build-up to the J/80 World Championship that will be hosted by Eastport YC later in the end of September.
Leading the way amongst the locals should be the team of Will & Marie Crump & Thomas Klok sailing “WHO’s HEIDI?” from the local Annapolis YC. As most recent J/80 North American Champions, they’re hoping to be in the running for the upcoming Worlds, too. Another strong local contender should be Mike Hobson’s crew on MELTEMI from Eastport YC as well as John White on USA 1162.
Challenging the local Annapolis hotshots will be a rogue’s roost of J/80 championship teams. A number of them happen to be from the wild, wild west of Texas. Terry Flynn’s QUANTUM RACING from Houston, TX should be amongst one of the top teams as well as Fort Worth Boat Club’s Glenn Darden on LE TIGRE. Fellow Galveston Bay Cruising Association sailor, Alan Parsons’ PARSONS PROJECT team, has always been a strong one-design crew, so watch out for them in the next few days.
Other teams surely to factor into the overall leaderboard could be Les Beckwith’s FKA crew from New Hampshire, Ken Mangano’s renowned MANGO team from local Eastport YC and their colleagues, Chris & Liz Chadwick’s team on CHURCH KEY. For more J/80 North Americans sailing information
J/70 Denmark’s Official Sports Boat!(Copenhagen, Denmark)- In conjunction with the final Danish Sailing League event sailed recently in Aarhus (see news below), the Danish Sailing Association (Dansk Sejlunion) has announced that their future one-design keelboat for its associated clubs will be the International J/70!
The decision by the Danish Sailing Association has been a lengthy process. In fact, the input from club sailors participating in the Danish J/70 Sailing League was critical to the decision. After three league events- Rungsted, Sønderborg and Hellerup- the J/70 was tested thoroughly in all sailing conditions (light air, flat water to heavy air and rough, steep seas). In short, the sailors have been more than enthusiastic about this exciting boat. The Association’s committee was also quite impressed by the J70s ability to handle many different crews with a wide range of experience, plus they felt it was quite impressive the J/70s have been able to withstand the punishing sailing conditions with the inexperienced crews.
Helping the local Danish sailing clubs on the purchase and finance of their J/70s is “DS Club Finance”. The sailor and entrepreneur Ib Kunøe, Chairman of Consolidated Holding, launched with the Danish Sailing Association a financing solution for clubs through the establishment of DS Club Finance.Said Ib, "Sailing has again become a party that everyone can enjoy - just take a look at the interest in the Sailing League. People come by the harbor and are greeted with sailing taking place right on the waterfront. As spectators, we are practically in the middle of the race and experience it all first-hand."
"The task of the sailing clubs is that they have to create an environment that fosters the best team and defend the club's honor in the Sailing League. So, you create an environment that is important to the sailing club’s sporting profile. Here, it is OK to win bragging rights," says President Hans Natorp. He continues to say, “It is the local experiences and the community of sailors that create a fun, warm, inviting ‘club life’ that ensures new generations of young people become aware of sailing's endless possibilities.”
Ib Kunøe agrees. Ib says, “I expect the new J/70 sports boats will retain the majority of juniors and young adults in the sailing club teams across Denmark, thus reducing the dropout rate. Sailing must be fun, exciting and accessible to all. The J/70 is a perfect boat for our club sailors in Denmark.” For more information on, please read Danish Sailing Magazine BAADMAGASINET. For more Danish Sailing League information
J/30 North Americans Preview(Riverside, CT)- Born in 1979 after the J/24 had taken off like a rocketship, the J/30 has enjoyed a remarkable degree of success across the world as an all-around 30 ft family cruiser-racer. Having survived the infamous Fastnet Race in 1979 (one double-handed) and others having won numerous Rolex Submariner watches in the famous Rolex St Thomas Regatta in the Caribbean, it can be said the J/30 has enjoyed at least four or five of its nine lives. Many proud owners today continue to extol its virtues as a nice all-around 30 footer that is easy-to-own, easy-to-sail, and enjoyed by the whole family at an affordable price on today’s “pre-loved” marketplace. That the upcoming J/30 North Americans hosted by Cedar Point YC from September 11th to 14th has thirteen boats registered for the weekend regatta is a testimony of the boat’s enormous popularity over three decades.
This year’s regatta has teams from New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois and Michigan- eight states represented after thirty years! That is quite remarkable and a testimony to the J/30s passionate and loyal owners. Many top J/30 teams are present for this year’s event. Given the cross-section of teams sailing, it would be fair to say just about any of teams (both local and visiting) have a fair shake at the top of the leaderboard.
Many familiar fast J/30s will be present, including Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello’s BEPOP from Annapolis YC, Steve Buzbee’s BLUE MEANIE from Raritan Bay YC, Carl Sherter’s FAT CITY from local host Cedar Point YC, Dennis Bartley’s PLANXTY from Oak Park, IL, Bill Kneller’s RHAPSODY from Portsmouth, RI and Russ Atkinson’s WILDCAT from North Cape YC in Rockwood, MI. For more J/30 North Americans sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
With the ending of the European summer vacation in August, it was time to get down to “business” in the sailing world. In Denmark, this meant completing their inaugural J/70 Danish Sailing League in Aarhus, Denmark. Their colleagues over in Germany were also completing yet one more stage in their J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga in Kiel, Germany under demanding, light air conditions.On the same level of intrigue, on the American side of the pond, the Stamford YC was hosting the Valeur-Jensen Denmark Race. This is an offshore racing tradition that dates back over several decades and includes Danish royalty.
Not much farther north on the eastern seaboard, the New York YC was hosting its NYYC Invitational Cup US Qualifying Series using a combination of J/70s and Sonars. Again, top sailors competed over a four period to determine who would be challenging the incumbent two-time winners of the Swan 42 NYYC Invitational Cup Regatta- Terry McLaughlin and friends from the Royal Canadian YC (Terry and friend John Hele are long-time J/24 and J/105 sailors). To underscore their commitment to sailing fast in J/105 one-designs locally in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Terry and other friends just recently sailed their J/105 Canadian Nationals on Lake Ontario.
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:
Sep 8-13- J/70 World Championship- New York YC- Newport, RISep 10-14- J/80 North Americans- Annapolis, MD- Annapolis YC
Sep 11-15- 50th Rolex Big Boat Series- San Francisco, CA
Sep 11-14- J/30 North Americans- Riverside, CT
Sep 12-14- J/80 German Nationals- Glucksburg, Germany
Sep 19-26- J/24 World Championship- Newport, RI
Sep 20-21- J/70 West Coast Championship- Newport Beach, CA
Sep 24-27- J/70 Europeans- Riva del Garda, Italy
Sep 25-28- J/80 Italian Nationals- Loano, Italy
Sep 25-28- J/105 North American Championship- Toronto, ONT
Sep 26-28- J/Fest San Diego- San Diego, CA
Sep 28- Oct 5- J/80 World Championship- Annapolis, MD
Oct 10-12- Lorient J/80 Open- Lorient, France
Oct 24-26- J/105 Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 24-26- Seattle Grand Prix Regatta- Seattle, WA
Oct 30- Nov 2- French J/80 Nationals- La Rochelle, France
Oct 31- Nov 2- J/105 Lipton Cup- San Diego, CA
Jan 18-23- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Newport Harbor Dominates NYYC J/70 USQS(Newport, RI)- The three yacht clubs that finished on the podium at the 2014 U.S. Qualifying Series for the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup have at least two things in common. First, each has previously earned a berth in the Invitational Cup. Second, each club was less than satisfied with their previous showing at that event.
Next September 2015, those three clubs--Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Eastern Yacht Club and Seattle Yacht Club--will have a chance to redeem themselves at the 2015 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex.
Each of the teams took a different path to the podium in the 2014 U.S. Qualifying Series. Newport Harbor was utterly dominant. Led by skipper Michael Menninger and tactician Jon Pinckney, Newport Harbor won 13 of 17 races. The team, which also included Taylor Grimes and Gregory Helias, wobbled slightly on the final day with an eighth and a 12th. But the latter was the result of a jib halyard issue and eventually rectified with a redress claim, which was approved by the jury. Newport Harbor also won three races on the final day.
"It wasn't the best day," says Menninger. "We had one bad race and one breakdown, but we never got worried. We just kept plugging away. We knew we had good boatspeed, we knew we were still sailing well. Our mentality on the boat didn't change at all."For Eastern Yacht Club, on the other hand, the final day was a constant battle. The team entered Saturday with a tenuous grip on a top-three finish. Time after time, skipper Bill Lynn and his team found themselves staring at a host of transoms, and they were forced to grind through a very stubborn fleet. The end result, a second-place overall, was worth the effort.
"We seemed to just dig ourselves little holes and them climb out of them," says Lynn, who sailed with Alden Reid, Ben Richardson and Megan Watson. "We were probably sailing a little too conservatively at times--except for the one time we did circles at the windward mark when we stuck it somewhere we shouldn't have. I think overall we were trying not to be over [early at the start], trying to stay with the pack. We had great speed, which made it easier to dig our way out when we had to."
Lynn was part of a team that won the inaugural J/70 North American Championship last fall in Annapolis, Md., but he said that the rule changes for this event--which prohibit changing the rig tune and don't allow any crew to hike with their legs over the side of the boat--made it hard to transfer much of what he has learned about the J/70 to the USQS.
"I've spent a fair amount of time in these boats," says Lynn. "It helps you downwind with the technique when you're figuring out when to plane, but upwind it's a totally different animal because you can't tune the rig."
Eastern Yacht Club finished fourth at the 2011 Invitational Cup and missed earning a spot for 2013. Lynn says the club is eager for one more bite at the apple.
For Seattle, the route to its second Invitational Cup bid was paved with consistency. Of the 11 races in the championship series, Seattle finished between third and sixth in nine. Andrew Loe, who skippered the club's USQS entry in 2012 and its Invitational Cup team in 2013, knew exactly what was required to earn his club a return trip to the Invitational Cup.
Just outside of the top three were New Bedford and Shelter Island. Both clubs were competing in the USQS for the first time and both came on strong on the final day, a good sign should they come back in 2016.
With the U.S. Qualifying Series now finished, the New York Yacht Club will work to finalize the roster of invited teams for the 2015 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex. That list will be released by early 2015. As with the past three editions of the Invitational Cup, the premier international Corinthian big-boat competition, a diverse and very competitive field is expected to challenge the two-time defending champions from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (which in both cases featured top J/24 and J/105 sailor and Olympic Medallist Terry McLaughlin as its skipper— a formidable opponent!).
For more NYYC Invitational Cup USQS Sailing information
Hellerup SC Tops J/70 Danish Sailing League(Aarhus, Denmark)- The Danish Sailing League's first season ended Sunday afternoon with Hellerup Sailing Club at the top of the podium as sovereign Danish champions for sailing clubs.
The winning HSC team included Mads Christensen, Ida Hartvig, Trine Abrahamsen, Casper Peetz, Kvid Kristian Sorensen, Morten Halkier and Christina Otzen along the way.
"I've tried to win the ISAF World Cup and other things in my time. But this is the first time I've seen someone come up to me and say that WE are ‘number one’. I am proud to have helped to create a sense of community within the club about this," said the skipper Mads Christensen - the only one who has sailed all four events for Hellerup SC.
"Hellerup is a club that does a lot of racing, and it means a lot to the team to win this. This strengthens the club and it will be needed when all the others come in next season with even stronger sailors!”
"Overall, Danish yachting be really proud of the league's first season. We have had many young sailors back in the sport, and we have created something really fun and with very close sailing. I believe that the league may be the ‘Game-Changer’ for the sport of sailing," said Mads Christensen.
The Royal Danish YC demonstrated its participation with four different crews for each of four events! 16 sailors in total. In Aarhus, the KDY had four young match racing talents. The result was a second place finish at the event - and second place as the final series standings! "It went very well and we can be satisfied, although we were also disappointed about not winning," said Hans-Christian Rosendahl for KDY.The big drama on the last day played out in the battle for the league's third place that also provides access to the forthcoming Champions League Tournament in Copenhagen.
All five clubs were in contention. Kaløvig and Aarhus had the best starting point. But with three first places in the last three races, the Kerteminde Sailing Club came from behind and took third place at the very end.
"It's absolutely fantastic, I almost do not know what to say. We did not expect it,” said skipper Kim Haugaard. "We chose to focus on our starts with open air as the most important criteria. Even if others were ahead of us. It worked, we can see now," he went on.
Kerteminde SC had a total of eight sailors participating, with Thomas Møhl as the only one who has sailed all four events.
The stage is set for a close battle for next year’s qualifiers to the 2015 Sailing League season. At least 15 clubs are in the qualifying tournament held in late October. The registered clubs are- Elsinore SC, Horsens SC, Struer SC, KAS - Kjøbenhavns Amateur SC, Gilleleje SC, Vedbaek SC, Sejlklubben Lynæs, Thuroe YC, YC Furesøen, Bogense SC, Godalming Bådelaug, SC Lynetten KØS, Boating SC, Hadsund SC, and Skærbæk Bådeklub.“The number of registered clubs largely live up to expectations,” says the league's project manager Peter Wolsing. “It's really positive with so much support. More than ten percent of all member clubs in the Danish Sailing Association is now either in the league or trying to qualify,” said Wolsing. He elaborates, “In reality, we are now close to having enough clubs to form the second division. Two leagues will allow the development of sports boat sailing in Denmark a tremendous impetus. And that is precisely Sailing League's main mission - to create a broad and accessible platform for attractive sports boat sailing in Denmark.”
The qualification regatta will take place over the weekend of 25-26th October in Copenhagen, prior to the planned Champions League competition shortly before. Register for the regatta- contact Peter Wolsing, peter@sejlsport.dk. Danish Sailing League summary- YouTube Sailing video For more J/70 Danish Sailing League sailing information
Bodensee YC Uberlingen Wins J/70 Germany #4(Kiel, Germany)- Even outside the Kieler Woche, the city of Kiel ,Germany is known as “Kiel-Sailing-City” at the highest level of sailing anywhere in the world. The fourth stage of the J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga for the best sailing clubs competing from all over Germany recently took place at the Kiel Fjord.
The regatta team from Kieler Yacht-Club, including PRO Philip Rosenberg provided the sailors on the water an organization at the highest level. On land, the state capital Kiel and Kiel-Marketing GmbH made sure the sailors were more than taken care of with professional class, red-carpet care.
The first day went into slow motion. Only five of 45 races scheduled were completed. An unusual sight at the top after a day in Kiel with very little wind. The second day was not much better. Only eight more races could be completed. At this point, the Bodensee YC defended their lead before the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein crew and the Wannsee sailing team.
The wind-puzzle at the first Segel-Bundesliga in Kiel meant it was a challenge for all sailors all weekend. Bodensee YC Überlingen (BYCÜ) won with crew of helmsman Andreas Buchert, Dr. Klaus-Peter Stengele, Jonathan Koch and Joseph Pochhammer in Kiel. "The fact that we begin here as well and win in the end, we had not thought of. It was an up and down. We appreciate the support of the fans and the city, which are close behind us as the only Bundesliga team from Überlingen," says Andreas Buchert. With the victory in Kiel and in fifth place in Berlin in August, the BYCÜ catapulted out of the relegation and is now fifth in the series table.Behind by three points behind in second place were the defending champion Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) with Sven-Erik Horsch, Carsten Kemmling, Florian Weser and Niklas v. Meyerinck and only one point behind them were the Luebeck Yacht Club with Simon Grotelüschen, Janika pulse, Arne Holweg and Niclas Kath.
KIEL.SAILING.CITY proved to be the perfect station for the Segel-Bundesliga. "That the Segel-Bundesliga is positioned close to the shore in front of the audience, was a great experience. For today, I had specially ordered more wind, that Neptune did not, for that I apologize. The races were still very exciting and we look forward to welcoming you again in the Bundesliga Kiel," said Gerwin Stichs, Councillor for Social Affairs, housing, health and sports for the city of Kiel. Sailing Photo Credits: Sven Juergensen
YouTube sailing video Summary- www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqjBhoSHh1k
Day 1 sailing video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRCN3yySb6A
Day 2 sailing video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjgeu-MOxYY
Day 3 sailing video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzL6EeezWzo
For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information
J’s Crush Class & Fleet Honors- Valeur-Jensen Denmark Race(Stamford, CT)- On Sunday September 7, J/Boats had a great showing at a key fall event on the CT/ NY Long Island Sound race circuit: The 49th Annual Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race. The event is sponsored by the Stamford YC, the Royal Danish YC, the Stamford Sail and Power Squadron and Consulate General of Denmark.
The Valeur-Jensen Stamford Denmark Race is held annually on the first Sunday after Labor Day. Attracting both performance sailors and the occasional racers, the Denmark Race remains one of the largest day races on the Long Island Sound. With all participating boats flying the Danish flag, it is probably the oldest and largest Danish sports event held annually outside of Denmark.
The fun is both on the water and off, with two race parties: A dinner the night before, and cocktails, Danish beer and snacks on the SYC lawn after the race, in connection with the awards ceremony. A unique collection of silver trophies has been donated over the years by corporations and individuals with ties to Denmark and Stamford. These trophies continue to be awarded to the winners in each division.
The Stamford Denmark Friendship Race was first staged in 1966, as part of a week-long commercial promotion and cultural exchange called the Stamford Denmark Friendship Week. The week was initiated by Werner Valeur-Jensen, a Danish resident of Stamford, then Chairman of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce.
Fifteen J/Boat owners from ports across the CT and NY state areas participated, representing the following models- J24/ 27/ 88/ 30/ 100/ 35/ 36/ 109/ 120.Top J/Boat finishes amongst the 12 divisions out of a total of ninety one boats included the following- Overall PHRF Spinnaker Fleet Winner (based on fastest corrected-time in Fleet)- the Queen of Denmark Trophy (Top Event Prize) – VELOCITY – J/88 – Kevin and Justin Marks.
Class 8 PHRF Spinnaker was also taken Kevin and Justin Marks’ J/88 VELOCITY for the Royal Copenhagen Trophy. Second in division was the J/100 DAYTRIPPER sailed by Robert and Theresa Carballal.
In Class 9 PHRF Spinnaker, taking 2nd place was the J/109 SKOOT sailed by Jim Vos and in third was Brian Warner’s J/35 IMPROMPTU. In Class 4 PHRF Non- Spinnaker, third place was the J/35 MARIAH helmed by John Stomber. Then, in Class 5 PHRF Spinnaker, the J/30 HELIUM sailed by Harrison Gill took third place overall. A good showing by all J/Teams in the event! Sailing photo credits- Rick Bannerot/ Rbannerot@gmail.com For more Valeur-Jensen Denmark Race sailing information
HEY JUDE Wins J/105 Canadians(Toronto, Ontario)- It could be said there are other good Canadian sailors other than Terry McLaughlin (an Olympic Medalist, America’s Cup sailor and two-time New York YC Invitational Cup winner), but that is a short list amongst the sailing cognoscenti north of the border. Nevertheless, in the world of one-design sailing it can happen that at any one time even pretenders to the throne are more than capable of upsetting the status quo. Amongst those sailors happens to be Jim Rathbun.
Jim is a quick learner; having sailed with Terry McLaughlin as tactician on his boat HEY JUDE in the 2009 J/105 North Americans on Long Island Sound. With Rathbun steering and McLaughlin on tactics, they nearly pulled off a “quickie” on their “south of the border” neighbors, having to settle for second place instead. In 2013, Rathbun’s team on HEY JUDE pulled off the inevitable, taking the J/105 North Americans in Annapolis, MD, the very seat and hotbed of all J/105 talent in all of the USA. So, it’s not surprising that Rathbun’s team on HEY JUDE are continuing on that winning role by taking the Canadian J/105 Championship in 2014. He promised as much in Annapolis, MD last fall!!
While Rathbun’s team won three of six races to take the overall win over Terry McLaughlin’s MANDATE team, it was clear they were the only teams in contention. All other J/105 crews in the top five were fighting amongst each other for the remaining scraps in the pile. Greg Mezo’s team on FORRO took third, with Peter Hall’s JAMAICA ME CRAZY on fourth and Bill Bevan’s ENDEAVOUR taking fifth.
This event was the last major regatta for all Lake Ontario J/105 teams taking place in the upcoming J/105 North American Championship hosted by Royal Canadian YC late in September. For more J/105 Canadian Championship sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Ida Lewis Distance Race Video- Trevor Davidson- a budding video choreographer extraordinaire? Trevor compiled a video clip of their experience sailing this year’s Ida Lewis Distance Race aboard Fred Van Liew’s J/111 ODYSSEY. Their team ended up winning the ILDR Junior Division in one of the nicest races this annual event has seen in years. Enjoy their video and “Comment/ Like” as you see fit!https://vimeo.com/105410207
J/CruiserJ 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.
* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
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