J/22 Worlds Preview(Kingston, ONT, Canada)- The world-famous CORK International Sailing Week will also be playing host to the 2015 J/22 World Championship, held in Kingston, Ontario and sailed on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The regatta is renown for its steady weather conditions in late summer, the natural geography forms a perfect “cone” at the end of the lake, generating stable sea breezes in the 12-18 kts range from the southwest. There are forty-six teams participating from Canada (15 boat), the Cayman Islands (three teams) and the USA (28 crews).
The field of competitors is full of past North American, World and National Champions from all three countries. The Canadian contingent hopes to have some local sailors at the top of the leaderboard, such as Trevor Collins, Jim Gillis, Ron Harris, Breck McFarlane, Stephen Jones and Bernard Le Duc. The Cayman Islands group will have the Cayman Island Sailing Club Commodore, Mike Farrington, leading the pack; he’s placed 3rd in the J/22 South African Worlds and has won the J/22 Jammin’ Jamaica event several times.
The Americans have a posse of gunslingers in their midst, including Mark Stuhlmiller, JR Maxwell, Kevin Doyle, Brad Julian, Marvin Beckmann, Jeff Todd, Terry Flynn (recent World Champion), Travis Odenbach, Chris Princing, Mike Marshall (recent Charleston Race Week J/22 winner), Zeke Horowitz, and Chris Doyle. Rumor has it that Al Terhune’s DAZZLER (another recent World Champion) will be participating as well. For more J/22 World Championship sailing information
J/80 UK Nationals Fortnight Preview!(Plymouth, UK)- There are only 10 days to go until the J/80 Nationals at Royal Lymington YC that start on Saturday 27th August. With 23 boats entered so far and more expected, this is looking like it will be a spectacular event. Entries will be accepted until 9am on Saturday 27th August.
Amis Production drones are revving their blades, Seahorse Magazines are fattening the pig for the Hog Roast, Skyscanner are sound checking the Sunday night band, North Sails are trimming last minute sails, Berthon are sweeping the docks, Nick Cox are sizing up the gear from Helly Hansen and LYC are readying the Ribs. The extensive number of sponsors and the great sailing waters of Christchurch Bay mean that this event will be a classic of the J/80 calendar; if you haven’t entered already, then don’t miss out!
A full shore-based program has been arranged for the Championships and subsidized tickets can now be purchased for the two main social events by visiting J/80 Nationals Social Events. For more J/80 UK Nationals sailing information
Ida Lewis Distance Race Preview(Newport, RI)- The start of the Ida Lewis Distance Race begins at 12:30pm off Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R on Friday, August 19th. Over 40 boats in four divisions – IRC, PHRF Spinnaker, Double-Handed and Cruising Spinnaker – will jockey for best positions on the starting line just like in traditional around-the-buoys racing, but shortly thereafter, skippers, navigators and crew will have to shift to offshore mode as they sail past Castle Hill and into the distance on one of four courses, decided prior to the start based on conditions. The courses run in length between 107 and 169 miles and incorporate waypoints such as Buzzards Bay Tower, Point Judith, Block Island and Montauk, giving sailors an interesting and beautifully scenic experience in this overnight “sprint” that has become a popular late-summer racing tradition in New England.
Special trophies for Youth and Collegiate Challenges make the Ida Lewis Distance Race a unique opportunity for experienced distance racers to share their knowledge with novices. One of those Youth Challenges, the J/35 BREAKAWAY, will have Paul Grimes (Portsmouth, R.I.) as team leader. To qualify for the Youth Challenge, more than 40% of the crew must have reached their 14th birthday but not turn 20 before August 15, 2016.
There will be nine J/Teams sailing the race. Entered in IRC Class is the J/44 KENIA from Houston, TX, skippered by Chris Lewis from Lakewood YC on Galveston Bay. In PHRF Spinnaker Class are Grimes’ Youth Challenge crew on the J/35 BREAKAWAY, plus Dwight McMillan’s J/109 AVIATO from Barrington YC, Greg Leonard’s J/120 HERON from Severn Sailing Association, Greg Slamowitz’s J/111 MANITOU, Brooke Mastrorio’s J/109 USA, EC Helme’s J/92S SPIRIT, Bob Manchester’s J/120 VAMOOSE and Bill Kneller’s J/109 VENTO SOLARE. The Ida Lewis Distance Race was inaugurated in 2004 as a biennial event; however, by 2006, its impending popularity was clear, and it became an annual race that same year. Now in its 12th edition, the race is a qualifier for the Rhode Island Offshore Challenge, New England Lighthouse Series (PHRF); and Northern and Double-Handed Ocean Racing Trophies (IRC). Top Trophies are The Russell L. Hoyt Memorial Trophy for best elapsed time in IRC division; The Commodore’s Trophy for best-corrected time in IRC division; The Lois J. Muessel Memorial Trophy for best elapsed time in PHRF division; and The Lime Rock Trophy for best-corrected time in PHRF division.
For a third year in a row, the Ida Lewis Distance Race has been certified at the silver level for Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas program. The certification system helps sailing events create and manage environmentally responsible events in an effort to educate and motivate boaters to reduce marine debris and preserve the waters upon which they sail.
Sponsors for the 2016 Ida Lewis Distance Race include Bluewater Technologies, City of Newport, Helly Hansen, New England Boatworks, Newport Shipyard, and Triton Insurance; Contributing Sponsors are DYT Yacht Transport, Flint Audio & Video, Goslings Rum, Mac Designs, North Sails, Rig Pro Southern Spars, Stella Artois, Toni Mills Graphic Design, and Z Blok. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. For more Ida Lewis Distance Race sailing information
J/120 Nationals Preview(Detroit, MI)- An excellent turnout of fifteen J/120s will be treated to gala social events and awesome racing by Bayview YC in Detroit, Michigan from August 19-21st in the J/120 USA National Championships. Boats are participating from Michigan, Ohio, New York and Toronto, Ontario. Racing will be taking place on Lake St Claire, a tricky venue based on the combination of shallow waters producing short, steep chop and breezes that are frequently blowing offshore, making for shifty, streaky winds.
The usual suspects of top Detroit boats will most certainly be in the mix, like Frank Kern’s CARINTHIA, Dave Sandlin’s J-HAWKER, John Hughes & Ed Vermet’s NAUTI BOYS, Charlie Hess’ FUNTECH RACING and Mike & Bob Kirkman’s HOT TICKET. Joining them from Toronto is Graham Toms’ THE CAT CAME BACK; from Hudson, OH is Tim Yanda’s VIVA LA VIDA and from Buffalo, NY is Tom Lewin’s SLEDGE HAMMER. For more J/120 USA National Championship sailing information
New J/70 Corinthian Nationals Announcement(Annapolis, MD)- The US J/70 Class Association announced the inaugural US Corinthian National Championship will take place this fall in Annapolis, Maryland. Eastport Yacht Club will host the "amateur-only" event in conjunction with the established Fall Brawl regatta from October 20-23, 2016. In addition to three days of racing, J/World will conduct practice races on Thursday, October 20, and both Friday and Saturday evenings will include a competitors’ social and industry professional debrief.
As a Corinthian event, all competitors, including the owner/driver, must provide proof of a valid ISAF Group 1 classification at the time of registration. “The concept of having a Corinthian Championship really took off at this year’s Easter Regatta,” summarized Christopher Howell, US J/70 Class Association Executive Director.
“While our amateur teams have benefited tremendously from professional sailors, there is a strong desire to also have a Championship with a balanced playing field where the competitors can receive advice from industry experts,” Powell added.
The Class Association has already scheduled the second US Corinthian National Championship for August 2017 as part of the Buzzards Bay Regatta in Massachusetts. Sailing photo credit- Ingrid Abery.com. For more J/70 Corinthian Nationals sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
With Olympic sailing taking place in the challenging waters off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Europeans are enjoying their famous month-long “siesta” in late July/ August. So, it is not surprising the sailing calendar is not loaded with many events at this time of year. Nevertheless, one of the largest race weeks in the world does usher in the start of the “summer season” on the Continent- the AAM Cowes Week hosted by the Cowes Combined Clubs for nearly 1,300 competitors across a broad range of one-design and IRC handicap classes. The fleet was blessed with remarkably beautiful conditions all week. Also taking place on the Continent were sailing league events using J/70s in Stavanger, Norway and in Malmo, Sweden.Then, hopping across the Atlantic, we find the highly popular Chester Race Week having completed four days of sailing in everything from near gales to sunny, benign, no wind weather! Nevertheless, the Chester YC managed to run up to nine races for some classes in their beautiful bay off sunny Nova Scotia! Simultaneously, down in New England, the Bristol YC hosted the inaugural J/Fest New England, in collaboration with Barrington YC, for one-design fleets of J/22s, J/30s, J/105s and J/109s, plus a PHRF handicap fleet for everything from J/70s up to J/88s and J/110s! Great fun was had by all!
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 13-19- J/24 European Championship- Plymouth, EnglandAug 14-20- Women's J/70 World Keelboat Championship- Rye, NY
Aug 19-25- J/22 World Championship- Kingston, ONT, Canada
Aug 19-21- J/120 National Championship- Detroit, MI
J/70 Events:
Sep 15-18- J/70 Rolex Big Boat Series/ Pre-Worlds- San Francisco, CA
Sep 24-Oct 1- J/70 World Championship- San Francisco, CA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Sailors Lovin' AAM Cowes Race Week(Cowes, IOW, England)- This year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, hosted by the Cowes Combined Clubs, provided competitors a wide-range of sailing conditions- from the “shorts & shades” variety with plenty of wind and lots of sun to light air, cloudy and drifts!!
The final day was a brilliant conclusion to top off a most extraordinary AAM Cowes Week. High pressure, brilliant sun and a solid westerly breeze again delivered perfect conditions. The wind dipped briefly in strength to around 10 knots as a belt of thin cloud moved across the Solent around midday, before increasing to 15 knots with stronger gusts when the sun returned 30 minutes later.
The bulk of the White Group dayboat classes completed their series today. The larger boats dominated the Sportsboat class results. With a win in Saturday’s race, David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J/88 J-DREAM sealed the deal to claim the silver in the Sportsboat class. Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT took 4th and Dirk & Dianne van Beek’s SABRIEL JR- 6th.Jack Davies’ YETI won their race for the J/70 class, winning three trophies(!)- J/70 Class, the Under 25 Trophy, and the Young Skipper’s Trophy! Fourth place was just enough for Ali Hall’s J-CURVE to retain second overall and claim Top Women’s Skipper, just one point ahead of Claire Lasko’s ELIZABETH- taking 3rd in class and 2nd women’s skipper!
With the main series for Black Group yachts having concluded Friday, Saturday’s racing was for individual class trophies. Rob Salter’s J/92 JACKDAW took away the silverware in IRC 5 on Saturday.
7th day- Friday’s report
The top two boats in IRC Class 1, the Mills 39 Zero2 and Bruce & James Douglas’ J/133 SPIRIT OF JACANA started the day tied on 10 points. A win Friday for SPIRIT OF JACANA cemented her overall victory!
The J/109 class enjoyed a high-scoring series, with six different race winners and 11 of the 25-strong fleet scoring at least one podium result. David Richards’ JUMPING JELLYFISH started the day at the top of the leaderboard, but a disappointing sixth place, after accepting a time penalty that cost three places, saw him finish the series in second place, three points behind overall winner Neil McGrigor’s BOO. A win in today’s race for Nick Burns’ Team Mandrake saw him take third overall, just one point behind Jumping Jellyfish and one point ahead of Christopher Sharples, Richard Acland and Patrick Tolhurst’s Jukebox.A narrow win Friday for Martin Dent’s J/111 JELVIS, 35 seconds ahead of Paul van Driel’s SWEENY, narrowed the scores at the top of the leaderboard. However, third place Friday for Tony Mack’s McFLY was still sufficient to secure his overall win, one point ahead of JELVIS. Paul van Driel’s SWEENY ended the series in third overall, two points adrift of JELVIS’ score. Notably, the BRITISH SOLDIER team won the silver in the Under 25 Trophy division!
The series points for most of the White Group dayboats finished Saturday, however, four classes had their final race Friday. Kevin Sproul and Chris Taylor’s JAT started the day at the top the J/80 leaderboard, ahead of Chris Body’s MOCKING JAY and Jon Powell’s BETTY. JAT and MOCKING JAY again led away from the start, followed by Terence O’Neill’s AQUA J and BETTY. JAT took her fourth consecutive win, 45 seconds ahead of Mike Lewis’ JESTER, with BETTY in third place only 18 seconds later. MOCKING JAY finished in seventh place more than five minutes later, a result she was able to discard to remain in second place overall, two points ahead of BETTY.The IRC Class 5 had a slew of J/97’s, J/97E’s, J/92’s in the fleet; they took most of the top eleven slots. First J/team and 5th in class was Ole Bettum’s J/97E ALAMARA B III; 6th was Libby & David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO; the next four slots were occupied by J/97s- Andy Howe’s BLACKJACK II- 7th, Bob & Jon Baker’s JAYWALKER- 8th, Rachel & Robert Hunt’s JUMBLESAIL II- 9th, & Matt Paskin & Rob Orr’s JACKAROO- 10th; 11th was Rob Salter’s J/92 JACKDAW. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth- PWPictures.com. For more AAM Cowes Week Regatta sailing information
Hot, Sunny J/Fest New England!(Bristol, RI)- The first New England J/Fest was a popular event that saw forty-one boats from across New England enjoy roasty-toasty weather, intermittent thunderstorms on Saturday and spectacular sea breezes on Sunday. The sailing conditions provided for tight racing in the one-design classes and spirited competition in the PHRF Class. Bristol YC hosted the regatta and racing took place on the upper reaches of Narragansett Bay, with most classes getting in six races. One of the highlights of the regatta was the Friday evening skipper’s
meeting and “local knowledge” presentation put on by local heroes Ken Read and Charlie Enright from North Sails- both are national and world champions in various classes and both have conducted successful Volvo Ocean Race campaigns- Kenny twice on IL MOSTRO/PUMA and Charlie once on ALVIMEDICA. The fleet was split onto two courses, with the J/22s and J/30s sailing in the immediate vicinity south of beautiful Rumstick Point with views of the Mount Hope Bridge- with the course managed by Bristol YC’s Race Committee. The J/105s, J109s, and PHRF class was hosted by Barrington YC’s Race Committee over on the northern course, just west of the famous Colt State Park.
Winning the J/105 class was Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s brand new (re-constructed) J/105 96- GOOD TRADE, winning five of six races to win their class by five points. Fred Darlington’s TONTO gave them a run for the money on Sunday, winning the first race and taking two 2nds, but not enough to overcome GOOD TRADES lead on Saturday that had three bullets in the scoreline. Third was Mark Lindquist’s crew on STERLING from Buzzards Bay.
The J/109s saw past North American Champion Ted Herlihy skipper GUT FEELING to a big win in their class, finishing with four 1sts in their six races to win by 9 pt. John Sahagian’s PICANTE, featuring guest helmsman Dr Rob Salk, managed to overcome an enormous deficit on Saturday to close with a 1-2-3 on Sunday to leap onto the podium and grab the silver. Bill Kneller’s team on VENTO SOLARE sailed a steady series to secure third place. As one of the top women helms in greater New England, it was not surprising to see Brooke Mastrorio’s URSA sail fast to take 4th position. Fifth was Brian Kiley’s GAMBIT.
The J/22s had a terrific turnout, with Bill Porter’s CONUNDRUM overcoming Matt Dunbar’s WHARF RAT early regatta lead on Saturday to close the deal on Sunday with a 1-2-1 and the class win. Third was Nick Cromwell’s DIRT DOG, showing the other teams how it’s done in the big breeze on Sunday, with 10-20 kts puffs crossing the course the DIRT DOG boys closed out the regatta with a 1-2. Taking fourth was Neil McDermott’s KONA and fifth place was David Wehr’s SHAKE & BAKE.
Sailing on the same course as the J/22s, it was Mark Rotsky’s NEMESIS that secured the class win with just 6 pts. Second was Robert Rude’s MMMMM and third was Jim Hilton’s KAOS. The pretty bright red DIPLOMATICO from Hamilton, skippered by Dan Borsutzky, sailed with just main & jib on the final day due to a small family crew and very blustery conditions; nevertheless, they were always in the hunt and enjoyed themselves immensely!It was blistering HOT racing in the PHRF division, especially between the two J/88s, a J/29 and a very well-sailed J/110 cruiser! In the end, the regatta was determined on a tie-breaker between Doug Newhouse’s J/88 YONDER and Jeff Johnstone’s J/88
ELECTRA (with guest tactician Charlie Enright on board), with YONDER taking class honors. The series went down to the wire and perhaps the spoiler in the J/88’s epic battle was Kevin Dakan’s pretty J/110 MEMORY- being sailed by a full family crew! After Saturday’s light-airs racing, YONDER was winning by one point over both ELECTRA and Steve Thurston’s J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN- both tied on points with 2-3 records. However, the breezier Sunday brought a huge change in the scores; after three fast races in flat water, the big winner on the day was Dakan’s MEMORY, posting a 4-1-1 to win the day 
and jump into third place for the regatta. Thurston’s MIGHT PUFFIN dropped to fourth and taking fifth place was Charlie McCoy’s navy blue J/29 HAWK.A big “thanks” goes out to regatta sponsors North Sails and East Coast Yacht Sales for their support and, again, a warm “thanks” to host Bristol YC, Commodore Joe Brito, the BYC volunteers as well as their friends at Barrington YC. Sailing photo credits- John Lincourt Photography For more J/Fest New England sailing information
Challenging Chester Race Week(Chester, Nova Scotia)– Sailors are a resilient lot– they race hard when conditions allow, and when they don’t. After hours on the course looking for wind, Chester Race Week organizers finally cancelled races for Bravo, Delta, and One Design fleets, sending wind-weary sailors back to shore on the final day of Chester Race Week. The only fleets to get races on the final day were Alpha and Bluenose.
“This was a tough week for everybody, weather wise,” said Principal Race Officer Brian Todd. “Huge thanks to our race boat leaders– Ken Legler, Oliver Bone, and Daniel Conrad– and their mark boat crews who all worked so hard to ensure the best racing possible given the challenging, constantly changing conditions. In the end, that’s why we had to cancel some courses.”
The regatta did not start out that way. It was quite the opposite end of the spectrum. With nearly gale force winds in the first two days, there were plenty of broken boats (sails, masts, etc) that forced retirements and, in fact, so much wind that some boats didn’t even venture forth to go sailing. With breezes hitting 30+ kts, many of the J/Teams reveled in the conditions and took full advantage of it. Later in the week, as the breezes subsided and went all for naught on the last day, you would’ve been hard pressed to find sailors that didn’t enjoy the breadth of weather thrown at them! “It sure beats fog and no wind” was a familiar perspective!
Winning the J/35 class was Andrew Child’s HELOC with a scoreline punctuated by all 1sts & 2nds. Not far behind was Thane MacDonald’s J-HAWK with 9 pts and closing out the podium in third place was the dynamic duo of Gary Bennett & designer Rod Johnstone on J’AI TU.
The J/120 Class, Stu McCrea’s DEVIATION taking class honors with nearly all bullets to count in their six-race/ one toss series. Taking second was Ron Stewart’s SLICE from Stratford, Prince Edward Island; they were followed by Richard Calder’s BRILLIANCE, just one point back.
Similarly, the J/29s enjoyed very tight racing between the top three boats. At the end of the five race series, Don Williams’ PARADIGM SHIFT and Terry Schnare’s HEAD GAMES were tied on points at 6.5 pt each, with PARADIGM SHIFT taking the tie-breaker. Third only three points back was Paul Dexter’s PAINKILLER.
The large J/24 class saw a runaway, taking their “Get out of jail free” card and running around the table like no won was there! Winning 6 of 8 races, Dave Wedlake’s BARELY LEGAL dominated class, winning by 7 pts. Chasing them hard around the course and even taking a win off BARELY LEGAL was Chris Veinot’s HYPEWAVE, ultimately finishing in 2nd place with 15 pts. Third was Ross Romney’s RUSH HOUR with 21 pts.
Over in the PHRF handicap world, on the Bravo 1 Class, it was Bruce Moore’s lovely J/30 RATTLE & HUM that was first JBoat and 4th in class. Second J/crew and 5th in class was Bill Adams’ J/70 RE-DEMPTION, sixth was Dale Robertson’s J/80 GOAT WHISPERER, 7th place was Jesleine Baker’s JUST ADD WATER, and 8th was Sam Lamey’s J/27 INCORRIGIBLE.
The Alpha 3 Class saw local hotshot Colin Mann sail his J/92 POOHSTICKS onto the top of the leaderboard after closing their six race series with four bullets in a row! Second was Rory Macdonald’s J/105 McMAC, 5th place was Jim Mosher’s J/105 MOJO, and 6th was Richard Gerstenberger’s AXIS.
The J/88 DEEP BIGHT, with Jim Snair as skipper, was sailing in perhaps the most mixed, bizarre combination of boats in the entire regatta- from two large Beneteau cruisers down to a Viper 830 and Fareast 28R! In the end, Snair’s J/88 placed fourth. Sailing photo credit- Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com. For more Chester Race Week sailing information
Cape Crow YC Leading J/70 Swedish Sailing League(Malmo, Sweden)- Series leader Crow Cape Yacht Club from Gothenburg retained the lead in the Swedish J/70 Sailing League after winning Act III in Malmö this past weekend; they finished only two points ahead of the KSSS- the Royal Swedish Yacht Club from Stockholm. Third was Ekolns Sailing Club from Uppsala.
Sailing in their fleet of six identically matched J/70s, eighteen clubs sailed in Malmo, completing 14 races for each club over the three-day weekend. Cape Crow YC won nine of their 14 races and had only one race outside the top three! For the Royal Swedish Yacht Club, they also had nine wins in their scoreline, but were two points back from the Gothenburg team.
“We are very smooth, except at the end when there was a little bit of shakiness by our team in the last race. But, it is important to not have any bad races. The key is to not to be overly aggressive when it comes to tactical choices and maneuvers,” said the winning team from Hönö. The CCYC crew consisted of Patrik Sturesson, Herman Andersson, Erik Malmberg, Måns Holmberg and Lovisa Karlsson.Conditions have varied greatly over the weekend. But overall, Malmö had spectator-friendly sailing in winds from 4 m/s up to puffs of 10 m/s. There were times when the weather ranged from brilliant sunshine to pouring rain, so conditions were extremely challenging for all of the teams.
As a result of the standings from Act III in Malmo, the overall series leader continues to be Cape Crow YC with a 2nd in Motala, a 1st in Ekero and 1st in Malmo for grand total of 4 pts. Holding on to a comfortable second place is KSSS with a 3-2-2 in those events for 7 pts. Third overall in the series is Ekolns Segelklubb with a 4-6-3 for 13 pts.
The fourth and final race of the Swedish Sailing League takes place in Gothenburg from September 2nd to 4th. Will the Cape Crow team continue their winning ways, or will they stumble and give it all away to KSSS? Or, will the Ekolns crew step-up their game and finally win an event? Follow along in two weeks time to find out with live SAP Tracking! For more Swedish J/70 Sailing League information
Arendals Wins Norway J/70 Sailing League Act III(Stavanger, Norway)- While Olympic sailors were fighting for medals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so gathered Norway's best Sailing Clubs to participate in their third round of the Norwegian Sailing League at Stavanger Yacht Club in Stavanger, Norway. The initial forecast was promising for the fifteen participating teams from across Norway- 10 kts from the West on Saturday, followed by a little less from the Northwest on Sunday, with Saturday being a bit wet and a sunny Sunday for all!
It turned out the weather forecasters in Oslo were quite accurate. It was cold, wet and windy on the first day, with breezes hitting in excess of 20-25 kts on Saturday. Then, Sunday provided light northwesterly winds all day to enable the Stavanger YC’s PRO to complete a total of 14 races for each team!
Showing their training has begun to pay big dividends, the Arendals team posted eight 1sts and five 2nds in their 14 races to win by four points over the Asgardstrand sailing club- also winning ten races but having a few bad ones to contend with. Third was KNS (Kongelig Norsk Seilforening) only one point back from ASF. “It blew so fresh on Saturday that some teams chose to sail without gennakers in their races. In the big winds, you can see an big difference between the best teams and those who are still climbing up the learning curve,” commented Didrik Godaker, PRO for Stavanger YC.
In the overall series, Åsgårdstrand SF currently leads by a single point over their arch rivals KNS. ASF counts a 1st in Oslo, 2nd in Sandefjord and 2nd in Stavanger for 43 pts total (high point scoring). Due to their important win in Stavanger, Arendals counts a 4-8-1 for 35 pts, vaulting from the bottom of the pack to third overall. While it may be hard for Arendals to catch the two leaders in the finale on September 10th to 11th in Bergen, they will have to watch their backs since they are in a virtual four-way tie for third place; sitting in third with 35 pts, with RAN in fourth with 34 pts, Larvik in fifth with 33 pts and Trondhjems in sixth with 30 pts. Bergen will be the game-breaker for one of these teams, that is for certain!! Follow the exciting action soon in a fortnight! For more J/70 Norwegian Sailing League information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* J/111 BLUR.SE report- Owner/ skipper Peter Gustafsson commented on the Gothenburg Open Sea Race: “This is perhaps the only proper offshore race on the west coast of Sweden- the Gothenburg Open Sea Race. It is a short 120 nm over-night stunt back and forth over Kattegat bay.Most of the J/111 BLUR.SE crew were on vacation, but I was keen to go anyways- - so we decided to do it double-handed. We thought it might be fun to challenge the fully-crewed teams. Or, so we thought. As we got closer to the race, the forecast became more and more grim, with pouring rain and 18-24 knots southwesterly breeze during the night.
We managed to stay with the pack on the long upwind over to the northern tip of Denmark, before we took off on the way home in the pitch black August night.
Unfortunately, the wind picked up even more at daybreak, and we had a steady 34-36 kts of wind when we rounded the last offshore mark at Marstrand. Not good. But the J/111 performed great with the heavy weather jib and a deep reef. We didn’t break anything and we felt confident all the way!! And the bonus? We took line honors and beat the fully crewed boats on handicap as well!! And, we did 20+ kts for a long time!!” Here is a YouTube sailing video J/111 BLUR.SE’s experience on the Gothenburg Open Sea Race.
* The J/111 MAJIC 2 is sailing the PALERMO-MONACO Race from 21 to 26 August. MAJIC 2 is racing under the colors of the Yacht Club de Monaco. According to owner JP Deage, “the race is organized by the Circolo della Vela Sicilia in collaboration with the Monaco Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the 12th edition starts August 21 in the Gulf of Mondello.The race is 430nm with the passage of a gate off Porto Cervo and a buoy off the Corsican coast, before taking a turn directly towards the finish line in Hercules Harbor just off YC Monaco.
Our team consists of Orel Kalomeni, Roberto Lauro, Nico Poons, and a young crew from YC Monaco’s sportsboat classes- like J/70s!”
* The J/130 SCEPTRE is now sailing in the offshore circuit in the southeastern USA. Here’s a report from her owner- Bob Musor from Mt Pleasant, South Carolina- “We moved from the SF Bay Area two years ago and brought our J/130 SCEPTRE with us. I have been slowly building a crew in the area.
Last Friday, we raced in the annual Savannah Cup, which is a night race from Charleston SC to Savannah Ga. We finished second in Alpha Class and were less than 30 minutes from winning the Savannah Cup outright!! SCEPTRE now has won trophies on both coasts and is as much fun to sail as ever!!”
* Cruising a J/105 on the Pacific Coast? Why not!? Larry & Becky Harteck, active members of the Santa Barbara J/105 fleet, decided to do exactly that with their two sons- heading for the Channel Islands! According to Larry:“We were at Santa Cruz Island for three days without any cell service!
Our son, Nick, is exploring a cave (an underwater ‘grotto’) that goes back at least a 100 feet and opens up to 2 large ‘rooms’.We anchored at Lady's Harbor in absolutely perfect conditions! So nice to enjoy the sounds of nature, hiking adventures ashore, swimming and exploring with the kids!”
We could not agree more with this idea. Disconnecting from anything electronic and interacting with your environment in a family setting is a wonderful way to spend time with your kids!
J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again, for 2015/ 2016! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.
* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. 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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