J/88 Family Speedster Update!
(Newport, RI)- The J/88 tooling is completing at CCF in Bristol, Rhode Island. The hull plug is polished/ completed and being prepped for a mold this past week. The deck plug is undergoing final detail work and gets its mold completed week after next. We’ve spent a lot of time on the cockpit ergonomics and layout and we're very excited about the overall feel of comfort, safety and sail-handling systems.
The J/88 is going to re-define what versatility means in an under 30’ sailboat -sleek look, super quick, great combination of sail power and stability, low maintenance, huge social cockpit, easy to single-hand, push button diesel, below-decks head, deck-stepped carbon mast, single-point lift – the list goes on. Please contact your local J/Dealer for more information, specifications and brochure. Learn more about J/88 here.
Charleston Race Week PreviewJ/70s Debut With Monster Fleet
(Charleston, SC)- Starting on April 18th, a massive navy of J/Teams will descend upon the beautiful sleepy town of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina and transform the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina into "J/Town". Of the 295 boats participating, 117 J/Teams (40% of the fleet) are sailing in the event coming from all points of the compass, by far the dominant boat brand for Charleston Race Week.
Making its debut as the single largest fleet ever since CRW began, the J/70 class will have 56 teams vying for both Fleet and Corinthian class honors. The depth of the competition is quite extraordinary, as it has been since its debut in Key West Race Week in January of this year. As more J/70s are delivered there will be more new faces showing up for the first time enjoying the fun, camaraderie and amazing sailing that is on offer from the world's best 23 ft sportboat!
J/80s sailing will have spirited competition between Jim Kershaw (Leesburg, VA) on COOL J; Brad Bertram (Augusta, GA) on ROCKET DOG; Rick Donn (Thornwood, NY) on SUPERFLUOUS; and Bert Carp (Annapolis, MD) on USA 11.
In PHRF B, the J/Teams include the J/109 HEATWAVE sailed by Gary Weisberg (Marblehead, MA); the J/105 DEAD ON ARRIVAL sailed by Joe Highsmith (Bluffton, SC); and the J/35 ARROW skippered by Willy Schwenzfeier (Charleston, SC). The betting is that one, if not all, of these teams are capable of sweeping class.
The "sleeper" division always seems to be PHRF C in Charleston Race Week. It's a fleet made up of good performance boats built over the past few centuries in the 26 to 30 foot range. An eclectic mixture, but the J/Teams showing up on the starting grid are very experienced and with enormous amounts of "MoJo" they can certainly kick some booty! Leading the charge should be Dave Pritchard's (Atlanta, GA) J/92 AMIGOS. A trio of J/29s are certain to give the AMIGOS boys headaches, including Steve Thurston's (Bristol, RI) MIGHTY PUFFIN; Jim Mackevich's (Edison, NJ) FOR SAIL; and Alex Miller's (Erie, PA) PAGAN. The real sleeper in the bunch is Robert Key's (Columbia, SC) J/27 AUDACIOUS. Yes, it would be audacious if AUDACIOUS stole the PHRF C title from this band of pirates!
Finally, Charleston Race Week has included an entire "pursuit" division, based on the fact you start right off the marina, race around the track and hopefully everyone finishes together in time for the party on the beach! Wow. Not a bad idea. And, it has certainly attracted a LOT of boats to this novel concept. Chalk one up for CRW organizers! In the Pursuit Spinnaker Class is Charles Coyer's (John's Island, SC) J/36 SOUL and a highly regarded northeast double-handed circuit competitor, the J/105 JADED sailed by Peter Rugg (New York, NY)! The fact that both SOUL and JADED are rated dead-even at 84 PHRF means they're in for a "run for the roses", who beats who!! Cool. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com and Onne Vanderwal. For more Charleston Race Week sailing information
J/109 One-Design Benelux Series(The Hague, The Netherlands)- About ten years after her introduction on the Benelux racing courses, the J/109 owners in Netherlands, Belgium, northern France have organized a circuit of races that should appeal to a broad cross-section of 109 owners that sail on "La Manche".
Several months ago a couple of owners decided to join forces. They selected several regattas on the racing calendar to participate together as a one-design J/109 class. As part of that initiative, the group agreed on the one-design sailing configuration, adopting the UK J/109 class rules, permitting overlapping headsails. But, contrary to these rules, in the Benelux series, "in-haulers" are allowed when sailing with #3 jibs.
As a result of these efforts, it has become clear the one-design initiative will be very successful! On April 27th about ten J/109s will compete in the "50nm Double-handed Race" on the Ijsselmeer. Just a few weeks later, this event will be followed by a one-design J/109 start during the North Sea Regatta from 17 till 20th of May-- ten or more boats are also expected for this event!
From 2002 about forty J/109's were sold in Holland and Belgium. 50% of these boats have a racing license so chances are good for this initiative to grow bigger in 2013 and 2014! For more Benelux J/109 one-design sailing information, please contact the Verhoef's at J/Benelux.
J/70s Join New England Leukemia Cup(Newport, RI)- Come support a great cause on Saturday June 8th for the Newport Leukemia Cup! There will be dozens of J/Teams from all across the spectrum supporting this event on a regional basis- J/111s, J/22s, J/24s, J/27s, J/29s, J/30s, J/35s, J/40s, J/124s, J/100s (maybe Governor Chafee of Rhode Island?) and others will be in the mix.
The J/70s are being given their own one design start. So, come one, come all to make this a successful event to help combat leukemia.
On Sunday June 9th, the J/70s are hosting a "Tuning Day"-- a "can't miss day" full of learning all the go-fasts in a seminar environment. North University’s Bill Gladstone will be filming both days. Following on-the-water tuning, boat-speed sessions, practice starts and races, a panel discussion with Tim Healy (North Sails), Kerry Klingler (Quantum Sails) and hopefully more will be part of the program.
SailNewport has graciously offered their facilities and have provided access to the Alofsin Piers for dockage on Saturday night and the Museum of Yachting to host the panel discussion! Be sure to sign up now! Please RSVP to "fleetcaptain@j70fleet2.com" For the Newport Leukemia Cup sailing information
J/Teams Sailing Le Voiles St Barths(St Barths, Caribbean)- With winter weather persisting in northern parts of the U.S. and Europe, sailors could be envied for heading to the Caribbean to extend their racing calendars. As it is, over 60 yachts and crew are currently on the island of St Barths, in the French West Indies, preparing for the start of Les Voiles de St. Barth. The fourth edition of this regatta will offer up four days of racing on a mix of courses and a social schedule equally as demanding, with dockside entertainment each evening and a lay day (Thursday) full of activities at Nikki Beach on St. Jean Bay.
As it has for its three prior editions, Les Voiles de St. Barth again has drawn a competitive mix of international yachts and crews from the UK, USA, France, Italy, Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium, and South Africa, as well as a strong Caribbean contingent from Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Antigua, and Trinidad.
The inaugural event in 2010 drew 27 boats, and since then, entries have steadily grown as the media and sailing’s coconut telegraph helped spread the word. Event Director François Paul Tolède was enthusiastic as yachts tied up stern-to at the Quai General de Gaulle in Gustavia. “The atmosphere is great on shore and the weather looks perfect,” he said. “With 62 boats entered and considering the current economic climate, the turnout shows what great regard the yacht owners have for the Voiles de Saint Barth.”Tolède continued: “Luc Poupon (Course Director) has come up with some new courses, slightly longer in some cases, as many of the sailors wanted to spend more time on the water, and so racing will start a little earlier. We expect anywhere between 15 to 20+ knots of wind this week — ideal conditions for the fleet.”
Jim Swartz, owner/skipper of the TP52 VESPER, is the anointed “godfather” of this year’s regatta. An enthusiastic competitor, he has participated in all four editions. For Swartz it is a "do-not-miss event". “The conditions are fabulous,” he said. “Sailing around this island is beautiful — the winds are always predictable, the sailing is always a lot of fun, particularly when we get a good breeze on the back (windward) side of the island.” After VESPER competed in the TP52 Worlds in Miami last month, the boat was shipped to St. Thomas to get it race ready and then delivered to St. Barths this week. “Les Voiles is always on our calendar,” Swartz said, “it’s the atmosphere — the racing is great, the people are great, as is the organization. It all runs very well. And the dining and shopping (for the ladies)--all that St. Barths is all about, we love the same thing!” Plus, Jim and friends in the summer resort of Martha's Vineyard will be, even more importantly, supporting summer youth sailing programs with a new fleet of J/70s! 
In addition to new J/70 owners like Jim Swartz and gang, venerable Caribbean competitors like Sergio Sagramosso's J/122 LAZY DOG and the J/125 HAMACHI sailed by Greg Slyngstad will be competing for Class I Racing honours. In Class 2 is the J/105 WHISTLER sailed by Peter Lewis from San Juan, Puerto Rico and the custom J/120 JAGUAR ISLAND WATER WORLD is being sailed by Ben Jelic. In Cruising Class is the J/95 SHAMROCK VII sailed by Tom Mullen from New Hampshire and the J/109 VOILES DE FEMME sailed by an all-girl team led by ARC trans-Atlantic champion Sophie Olivaud. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com For more St Barths's Regatta sailing information.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
This past week marked the beginning of the second half of the Warsash Spring Series, post the Easter Holiday Weekend. The one-design fleets of J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and the IRC handicap fleets enjoyed better racing than in weeks past, but still not like last year's "shades & shorts" racing with bright sunny skies and sun-screen getting lathered on everywhere! Their Italian J/24 colleagues off to the east sailed their famous Pasquavela event off Porto Santo Stefano, a most picturesque seaside Italian town. A bit further east off Athens, Greece on the Mediterranean, the J/24s held the first stage of their Pan Hellenic Championships at Club Paleo Falero. Heading over to South America, the J/24s down in Argentina were completing their first "fall" events. Crazy, isn't it? The northern hemisphere is still living "winter" (with no spring) in many places while the South Americans are enjoying a pretty fall?? Hmmm. The J/24 Autumn Cup (Copa Otono) was recently sailed in Buenos Aires off YC Argentina on Rio de la Plata. Off to the west in the spectacular Andes Mountain range, the J/24s held the Sailor's Cup on Lago San Roque off the Andean village of Cordoba. Up in the Caribbean, the J/22s recently conducted their Race Cayman International Regatta sailed off George Town, Cayman Islands with teams invited from all over the world for the locals to humble a few more times! Finally, the Texan sailors hosted their famous "Elissa Regatta" at Houston Yacht Club-- the event benefits the "official tall ship" for the State of Texas- the ELISSA- that is used for education, culture and experiential learning.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:
Mar 17-Apr 28- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, EnglandApr 18-21- Charleston Race Week (22, 24, 70, 80, PHRF)- Charleston, SC
May 3-5- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis, MD
May 8-12- Semaine de Porquerolles (111)- Ile de Porquerolles, France
May 17-19- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA
May 18-20- J/24 German Nationals- Flenburger, Germany
May 31-Jun 2- Southern Bay Race Week (24, 70)- Hampton YC, VA
Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Jun 7-9- New York YC Annual Regatta (111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 14-15- Off Soundings Regatta (105, 109, 120)- Watch Hill/ Block Is
Jun 15-16- Cleveland Race Week (70)- Cleveland, OH
Jun 19-22- J/24 US Nationals- Wayzata, MN
Jun 23-28- Block Island Race Week- (80, 35, 105, 109, 111, 44)- Block Island, RI
Jun 27-30- Kieler Woche (70, 80, 24)- Kieler Segeln Club- Germany
Jul 4-7- J/24 UK Nationals- Plymouth, England
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 27-28- Youngstown Level Regatta (70, 24)- Youngstown, NY
Aug 9-11- J/109 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-11- Verve Cup Offshore (109, 111)- Chicago, IL
Aug 9-13- J/27 North American Championship- Oakville, Ontario
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Warsash Spring Series Halfway ReportJ/Teams Anticipating Warmer Spring Soon!
(Warsash, England)- The six-Sunday Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series resumed on 7th April 2013 after a break over the Easter weekend. On a positive note, this was the warmest day of the event so far this year which has seen very cold conditions. However, the sea temperature has yet to warm up - 4.5 degrees compared with 10 degrees at the same time in 2012! Nonetheless, crews and race officers alike donned their thermals and foul weather gear to enjoy a great day’s racing in a steady 10-14 knot breeze from the south-east in a fairly flat sea state.
The Black Group committee boat set up a start line at SCRA buoy just east of the Brambles Bank and without delay got all classes underway, with courses ranging between 11 and just under 14 miles. Tacticians needed to find a way out of the tide on the windward legs, without losing the best wind. There were three fast downwind legs with the tide, when places were often changing and this resulted in some crowded mark roundings. In IRC1 Tony Mack (McFly – J/111) was out for the first time and took a win by over five minutes from Loco (Sydney 40). A slightly longer gap of 16 seconds in the J/109s separated first placed Jagerbomb (Paul Griffiths) from Jynnan Tonnyx (Owain Franks and Jean Lockett).
At the halfway point, IRC3 sees the J/97 JIGGERY POKERY sailed by Chaz Ivill holding second overall and stablemate J/97 INDULJENCE skippered by Nick and Adam Munday are now up to fourth overall. The J/92s J'RONIMO sailed by David Greenhalgh and John Taylor are sitting in sixth and the J/105 JOURNEYMAKER V with Chris Jones at the helm is in tenth.Although OFFBEAT (David McLeman) slipped to fifth place this week, two wins gives them top placing in the J/109s. They are followed by Mike & Sarah Wallis's JAHMALI, Owain Franks & Jean Lockett's JYNNAN TONNYX, David Mcgough's JUST SO and Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB, respectively, to round out the top five.
On Peter Knight’s White Group line the wind steadied around 120 degrees, so the three 40-50 minute races could use the same course. The slightly warmer temperature may also have been reflected in White Group’s spinnaker handling. With slightly less numb hands, there was a significant reduction in the numbers taking the wide route round the leeward gate. In the first and second races, the J/70 Boats.com (Ian Atkins) saw off the rest of the fleet, but in race three were pushed down to fourth. This let Ruairidh Scott’s NORTH SAILS, helmed by Geoff Carveth, win the day with a 2,2,1 score line. As in previous weeks, the J/70 racing remains close. Ian Atkins still leads, followed by Scott's NORTH SAILS, Simon Cavey's PHEEBS, Malcolm Jacques DJANGO and TEAM SPITFIRE's Simon Ling to round out the top five.
In the J/80s, Race 2 saw a general recall when a mid-line bulge occurred a few seconds too early. Given a second chance, the class then got away cleanly although ROCK & ROLL just beat the gun in the third race and had to return. Out for the first time this season, Stewart Hawthorn in J'AIX DEUX AMOURS took all three wins. At this stage halfway into the series, Jon Powell's BETTY continues to maintain a healthy lead on the fleet. Rounding out the top five are Gillian Ross' ROCK & ROLL, Mark Baskerville's MISTRAL, Allan Higgs' JUICY and Vladimir Phillips' JABBA.Back in the clubhouse John Wallace, the local director from sponsor Brooks Macdonald, and his family enjoyed the warmth and after-race banter whilst presenting the weekly champagne prizes. The Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series continues on 14th April 2013. Sailing photo credits- Iain McLuckie For more Warsash Spring Series sailing information
Pendola Leads Argentina's J/24 Autumn Cup(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- While winter seemingly still has not left the northern hemisphere, clinging a bit too tenaciously for most battle-hardened sailors, the J/24 gang down in Buenos Aires are enjoying nearly equally crazy conditions in their J/24 Autumn Cup, hosted by Yacht Club Argentino.
After a hard day of racing Saturday, the fleet was able to complete three good races. Southwest winds prevailed despite, providing the fleet with what is known locally as the "borneo conditions", rains blasting the fleet with massive wind shifts and winds gusting from 15-25 kts. With the racing taking place not far off the "North Dock", the fleet was constantly challenged with shifty, gusty cells that keep mixing up the fleet. After three races sailed, it was clear the CACIQUE team led by Sergio Pendola had established a good lead on the fleet with a 1-1-2.
For Sunday's racing, the fleet was blessed with a sweet sunny day with little breeze. After two hours of postponement a gentle northerly settled onto the race course, veering to the northeast that grew stronger during the day. The RC managed to run two good races to make for a nice start for the two weekend series. The first race with soft breeze was again won by Sergio Pendola and the CACIQUE gang and the second race was won by Nico and Rina Cubria. The Rossi brother's on SHARK are still lurking and waiting for their chance at the lead. Also, the BA J/24 fleet welcomes newcomer Adrian Segurado. Next weekend concludes the Autumn Cup at YCA- April 13 & 14. For more J/24 Buenos Aires sailing information
J/Teams Support Tall Ship ELISSAAwesome J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/105, J/109 OD Participation!
(Houston, TX)- Houston Yacht Club recently hosted its 27th annual Elissa Regatta for the benefit of the tall ship ELISSA. This event not only raises money for the ELISSA but also raises awareness of Texas' sailing heritage.
The ELISSA is an iron-hulled sailing ship built in Scotland in 1877, and is now a National Historical Landmark as well as the "Official Tall Ship of Texas". She is a three masted barque with nineteen sails covering over one-quarter of an acre in area. The Elissa is housed at the Texas Seaport Museum and is owned and operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation. Proceeds from the Elissa Regatta Weekend not only help maintain the ship but also fund exhibits, community activities and educational programs in connection with the Elissa for youth and adults.
Sailing in the regatta was local luminary Jay Lutz, racing aboard his J/80 USA 803 with son, Taylor Lutz. Here's Jay's report- "What a great time of year to sail on Galveston Bay in Texas! Throw in a good cause, the 27th annual 2013 “Elissa” Regatta, hosted by legendary Houston Yacht Club and you have a fun time for all.
The regatta consisted of twelve classes ranging from the hot new J/70 to a pursuit start in mixed PHRF rated boats. I had the pleasure of crewing with my son Taylor, in our J/80 along with our good friends Joe Taylor (JT) and Casey Rogers. JT and I are old, and when we added up, (with a calculator) just the years we’ve sailed together, it was more than the J/80 is long-- 30 years!! At least the “kids”, Taylor and Casey brought our “average” crew age down considerably. Advil anyone?Our race course consisted of the PHRF, J/109, J/105 and J/80’s. Winds were SSE 12-18 knots for both Saturday and Sunday (and I might add 78 degrees). In our J/80 fleet the competition was very tough with many different competitors leading our class at some point during the six race event. Kevin Funsch and crew of “Geaux Fast” (AKA “Kicks”) did an outstanding job to win the event by one point over “USA 803”, Taylor Lutz and crew on a very tight last race finish. Third was Ramon Torres on “80 Proof” who did a great job winning race #1 on Saturday. Fourth place was our local fleet captain Forbes Durdin on “Mojito” who had the most unlucky first day rounding the first windward mark of race #1 with a comfortable lead after an excellent beat but missed the offset mark (yes, it was a ways away Forbes) and having a spin takedown/ jib out, back upwind to clear the offset and dropping back to 6th…And then again leading race #2 and missing the mark change (not sure we heard or saw any “C” flag either).. He needed a couple Mojito’s after that!" Thanks for that contribution, Jay!
The six J/105s battled it out for Galveston Bay supremacy. Winds in the 15-25 knot range made for some exciting extremely tight racing under beautiful Texas skies and very comfortable temperatures. First place changed hands several times during the six races, but Mark Young on KILLER RABBIT won his first ever J/105 regatta and was properly doused in the drink afterward by his admiring competitors. Has Fleet 17 found a new tradition? Bill Lakenmacher on RADIANCE stole second by one point from Bee Bednar on STINGER. A great time was had by all.
The six J/70s saw two matches form over the course of the regatta, one a race for first and the other for third overall. In the end, Tom Romberg from Austin YC won the first match with Chris Lewis from Lakewood YC taking second. In the second match, Jim Mitchell from Fort Worth Boat Club sailed BOOMTOWN into third by virtue of winning a tie-breaker over Bruce McDonald's team from Austin YC sailing ROGUE WARRIOR.
The largest class at the regatta were the fun-loving J/24s. The fourteen boats supplied great competition and the top five really was not settled until the smoke cleared in the final race. Squeaking by with the top honors was Stu Lindlow's TROPICAL AGGRESSION, winning by only one point over Jim Kondziela's ODALISQUE. Third was Natalie Penner's GIGGLES, an awesomely fun team from Dallas Corinthian YC just three points back. Fourth was Kelly Holmes-Moon on BAD MOON and fifth was Bryan & Vicki Dyer on RUM LINE.
The six J/22 teams saw a streak of bullets from Larry Blankenhagen's team on PARROT TALES LIGHT, winning comfortably with 6 pts. Taking second was Don Peloquin's STUDENT DRIVER and third was Chris Morlan's TILT.
Finally, the J/109s sailed as a trio with some spirited competition. At the end of the day, is was Dave Christensen's gang on AIRBORNE that was crowned champion. Next in line was Tom Hutton's LEADING EDGE and in third was Barry Hoeffner's POLE DANCER. For more ELISSA Regatta sailing information
INDIGO J/24 "Sailor's Cup" Champion(Cordoba, Argentina)- The past weekend was the second and final round of the fall J/24 championship on Lago San Roque called the "Sailor's Cup", sailed off the picturesque Andean Mountains' town of Cordoba.
An excellent fleet turnout of seventeen boats produced close competition with the top five all riding "roller coaster" finishes over the two weekend event with six races completed. It was evident the various J/24 teams are increasingly more even in their performance, boat speed and teamwork are such that many races aren't determined until the final 100 meters by those making the fewest mistakes!
In the end, is was Team INDIGO led by Despontin Ezekiel, who managed to win the championship after an excellent final day posting finishes of 2-4-1 for 16 net pts. Just behind them a true Argentinean polo pony race hit the pelota into the goal! The next four boats finished within four points of each other!
Taking second on a tie-breaker was CALEUCHE PHONE SERVICE followed by CAIDO DEL CIELO in third, also with 21 points. By virtue of winning one of their first races, the team on MARIA MARIA sailed by Julia Wheat, Vicky Allende, Carlos Trigo, Miguel Bailo and Ramiro Camiloto finished fourth with 24 pts. They were followed in fifth by A PRUEBAS DE BALAS with 25 pts! A close finish indeed for these crazed mountain J/24 sailors who know how to have lots of fun. Must be the deliciously yummy pampas fed beef and sweet malbec red wines that all grow in the region. For more J/24 Cordoba sailing information
LA SUPERBA Wins Close J/24 Pasquavela(Porto Santo Stefano, Italy)- Eighteen J/24s representing Hungary, Germany and Italy made the migration down to sail the gorgeous and enchanting stretch of sea between Porto Santo Stefano and the offshore islands of Giglio, Talamone and Giannella. If the weather and sailing are good or bad often doesn't matter much to the J/24 sailors who love participating in Pasquavela; the seaside village is beautiful and quaint with many nice cafes and restaurants to enjoy any time of day!
On the first day of Pasquavela the winds were from the south/ southeast with a nice, gentle 12-15 kts breeze. Establishing an early lead in the regatta was LA SUPERBA, winning two of the three races with BUDAPEST BANK taking the other race.
The next day was characterized by adverse weather conditions, which was both widely expected and forecasted! Nevertheless, the excellent work of the Race Committee made it possible to carry out at least one race in the "scirocco" winds, blowing 20-25 kts at the start and gusting to 35 kts in heavy rain showers by the weather mark near shore (in fact, located just off the beach at Gianella!). After that experience, the PRO wisely sent the fleet home to lick their wounds and prepare for another day of sailing.
Unfortunately, Sunday's sailing was also adversely affected by crazy weather! This time lack of wind was the problem and sailors (happily) suffering from too much bright sun and flat seas. However, despite repeated attempts by the PRO to start a race, the wind simply would not cooperate, so no races were sailed on Easter Sunday. It was time to head back to shore and enjoy Easter Brunch with family and friends along the seaside cafes!
Finally, perhaps either by the Grace of God or King Neptune himself feeling happier, Easter Monday was celebrated with three good races on a sunny day, decent breeze and flat water. A fitting end to a regatta punctuated by some wild weather conditions.
Continuing on their performances in 2012 as both Italian and European J/24 Champions, the LA SUPERBA team led by Ignazio Bonanno (crew included Simone Scontrino, Francesco Linares, Alfredo Branciforte and Massimo Gherarducci) won five races to help them win by four points. Sailing faster and smarter all the time is the Hungarian team BUDAPEST BANK sailed by Farkas Litkey, their five 2nds and a first nearly pulled off a win were it not for the 4-2 on the last races. Instead, Farkas and the B-BANK boys took a well-deserved second overall with 11 net pts. Third was top German team JJ ONE form the Segel Club Joersfelder with a total of 26 net pts. Rounding out the top five were JAMAICA sailed by Pietro Diamanti in 4th and CAPTAIN NEMO skippered by Guido Guadagni in 5th."Overall it was a wonderful Pasquavela-- the total number of sailing teams is slightly lower than in 2012, but the quality is definitely increased," commented YC Santo Stefano Commodore. "Pity about the weather (too windy Saturday, Sunday too little ), but the race course off Porto Santo Stefano always presents an excellent challenge to all sailors. The race committee was excellent considering the weather! The behavior of the participants was wonderful and 'Thanks' to the Jury on the water. Please feel welcome, enjoy the awards, rivers of beer and pasta for everyone!"
The German J/24 report on their experience at Pasquavela was quite amusing- "three German teams sailed Pasquavela this year. The sailing could be characterized as "assault and demolition" one race to "lulls and flat" the next. At times it was sunny, then cloudy again, and finally we also enjoyed a bit of rain. After the months of snowfall in Germany, we were certainly happy to have a variety of weather. After all, there were temperatures up to 18 C.! Plus, the Italians are always great hosts-- pasta, beer, red wine!
The races were sometimes very tricky and not every team did so well. The best German team were the guys from the JJ ONE who fought hard on the last day (getting a 7-2-4) to place third overall. Peter Langhans and his OSTE hoodlum boys occupied eleventh place and the ALICE girls (you know, all the pretty blonds) finished the series ranked 17th.
Legendary German sailing coach, Thorsten Paech, appeared quite happy with the whole weekend. We practiced on the water in all kinds of situations. Pre-start, tons of mark roundings, and boat-for-boat tactics against the competition. I'm curious to see how our teams will implement their learning experiences in the next event?"
No question, the Germans, Hungarians and Italians are all gunning for a "good show" at the J/24 World Championships being sailed in Ireland later this summer! Thanks for contribution from Paola Zanoni- Italiana di Classe J24 (email- pzanoni@libero.it). For more J/24 Italy Pasquavela sailing information
HELLENIC POLICE Winning J/24 Pan-Hellenic Championships(Athens, Greece)- This year's first phase of the Pan-hellenic J/24 Championship hosted by the Yacht Club of Paleo Falero was full of twists and turns for the thirteen teams that participated from Athens, Crete and Thessaloniki. After 8 exciting races, the HELLENIC POLICE, with skipper Alexander Tagaropoulo took an important step forward for the Pan-hellenic Championship Class by winning this event before heading down to Agios Nikolaos, Crete in October 2013 for the second phase to complete the championship. Behind HELLENIC POLICE in second place was JMANIA with Spingo Niko and Dimitris Petkidi skippering. Third was ANIMA sailed by Alexander Mogantam.
The first day of racing began with an unpleasant surprise for the teams as they were leaving the harbor-- complete absence of wind. However, a light breeze from the south appeared and spread throughout the Paleo Falior Gulf growing into a beautiful 8-15 kts breeze. Three races were completed, which included spectacular duels between the leading groups. The three favorites to win (HELLENIC POLICE, ANIMA, JMANIA) made very strong starts with the trio winning all three races. The second day of racing was the most exciting, as there were four races in difficult conditions for teams. The prevailing southerly winds were strong to begin with and grew even stronger throughout the day, reaching 20-25 kts with huge, choppy waves coming down the gulf. JMANIA stole the day with some amazing races, including winning two races with HELLENIC POLICE taking the last race win.
On the last day, the weather permitted only one race as the sailing conditions diminished rapidly for the sailors. With an early start at 11:00am, the RC was hoping to get in at least two races before the forecasted 20-25 kts winds increased in intensity to 30-35 kts near-gale conditions. It turns out, the forecast was right, but late! By the time the J/24 teams were finishing the first race, gusts were already hitting 30 kts! At that point, the RC wisely called it a day and told the fleet to head for home! The only race was won by HELLENIC POLICEThe crews now look forward to their next appointment to complete the PanHellenic Championships in October at Agios Nikolaos, Crete. With only 5 points separating the top four teams, interest in the second phase remains high, and the final victory of the Panhellenic open and unpredictable. Sailing photo credits- Stavros Kouris For more J/24 Greece Pan-Hellenic Championship sailing information
J/22 Race Caymans- A Cracking Good Time!(George Town, Cayman Islands, Caribbean)- This year’s Race Cayman sailing regatta was another huge success. The annual event, now in its 5th year, featured three different categories of sailboats. The winds rarely disappoint in March and this year was no exception with strong winds and big waves on the Friday and Saturday. Sunday saw lighter conditions and the sun shining on the blue waters of North Sound producing the perfect conditions that attract our overseas sailors, many of whom return every year to take part in this event.
The J/22 International Invitational regatta, which has been run every year since 2006, attracted competitors from Germany, USA, Uruguay, South Africa, UK and the Bahamas who raced against the top three qualifying teams from Cayman. The racing was at times extremely tight and it was clear that the returning overseas teams had learned local knowledge from previous years.
The German team, skippered by Peter Karrie had clearly come to compete with their rival Mike Farrington whom they have met twice at the J/22 world championships and who has won Race Cayman for the past four years. Another returning skipper was Marc Fischer from the USA who drew the top boat in the draw and brought a strong team with him. After two days of racing, the final day dawned with Mike Farrington again commanding a good lead and Tomeaka McTaggart, another local sailor holding on to second place. The race for third place though was wide open with Germany, USA and South Africa all in with a good chance. It proved to be the Germans who took control sailing brilliantly to take two second places and claim third spot, one point ahead of the South African team.Throughout the event, competitors were treated to some great social events, a hallmark feature of Race Cayman. Heineken and Jacques Scott were major sponsors putting on a sailing fiesta happy hour on Friday. The prize giving on Sunday was at George Town Yacht Club, a great venue for such an event.
As always there were many people involved in making the event a success, far too many to mention but special mention was afforded to Peta Adams who once again ran Race Committee alongside International judge Gilmour Manuel to a very high standard. For more J/22 Race Cayman sailing information
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* Speaking of "cracking good times", the recent J/24 Australian Championships held at Sandringham Yacht Club in January always seems to produce some amusing anecdotes and stories along the way. Many of them are posted in the "HIT THE MARK" J/24 Oz class newsletter published about once a quarter. Here's one of those "tongue-in-cheeky" reports-"Just in case you’ve been in a coma, the Nationals were bigger than Christmas. The J24 Vic Association had 23 entries from Sydney, Adelaide and even Cairns. This event has been reported by Simon Grain in his usual excellent manner on the national web site so I won’t go into detail her but well extend a huge well done and congrats to Arthur Corrothers and helmsman Ben Lamb in winning their first Australian Title and of course to our own Adam Evans coming in forth place as top Victorian.
Well... the social side was just as brilliant. I wish I could remember half of it. A welcome barbie on Saturday... Caribbean Calypso night Tuesday, both very well attended and much enjoyed. The Presentation night was easily the best one I’ve ever been to. Apart from the winning trophy the highlight was the BEST LADIE'S BRUISE contest, sponsored by Hershell Landes, this spontaneous competition saw one female crew member from Adelaide drop her pants on stage to show off a bit of a bruise on her upper thigh. Now, I’ll be honest, and I was pretty close to the action, the bruise wasn’t the biggest in the room but the dropping of the pants was a master-stroke and the expensive bottle of wine was easily won. To thunderous applause, I might add. (Please, mop my sweaty brow someone!)
The evening went on, need I say, to be a huge night that included drinking, dancing and the making of lurv, but I can assure you, not by this correspondent. I know we are all very thankful to MUSTO who were official and sole suppliers of apparel and have extended to us a great deal that we were very fortunate to get. UK Halsey also sponsored us with a $500 voucher for a sail, a trip on George was also donated by Steve Aulich and there were many Musto goodies too, all of which made the raffle fantastic. Also, thanks again to Pete Holmes, who sails on Crackerjack and who supplied all of the graphic design we needed to make posters, hats, shirts, bags and this very newsletter! Just a brilliant job!!" Speaking of "brilliant", download the entire "HIT THE MARK" J/24 Australia Newsletter here:
* The 49th Congressional Cup recently started competition this past week. It's a truly international event and what's perhaps most interesting about it from J/sailor's standpoint is that the top three teams in the competition are all either past J/24 World Champions, UK Champions, French Champions or European Champions. It's actually quite remarkable that's the case for one of the most prestigious match-race events in the world.
Who are these guys? Some familiar names for many of you. For starters, Ed Baird and Terry Hutchinson are sailing together. This may be the first time in Congo Cup history two J/24 World Champions sailed together! My goodness, now that's a "brain trust". They're up against Ian Williams from United Kingdom who's also got a bit of UK/ European J/24 sailing in his background. Then their's Frenchman Mathieu Richard who has both J/24 and J/80 French sailing on his resume. Perhaps what is amazing most of the pundits covering the event is that Mathieu Richard hasn't match-raced in seven months; Ian Williams had been laid off for five months of match-racing; and Ed Baird has been off match-racing for years. And, yet they're all leading the event. More news next week to see how this group of J/alumni are doing against some of the world's best match-racers. Heck, maybe one of them wins the $50,000 USD first prize and wears the "crimson blazer"!
Up against this trio are New Zealand’s Laurie Jury, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Taylor Canfield (someone else with J/24 and IC/24 experience), Switzerland’s Eric Monnin, Italy’s Simone Ferrarese, Australia’s Jordan Reece and New Zealand’s Adam Minoprio.
How did Baird and Hutchinson, both Congo Cup winners themselves, join together? Hutchinson was invited back this year, two days before he learned he was asked to team up with Baird in a Quantum Sails-sponsored TP52 campaign in Europe. Since Baird will be driving that boat, Hutchinson figured they should team up here. “Since we’re going to be sailing together this summer,” Baird said, “Terry thought this would be a good place to start.” Yes. Good idea, Ed! Use Congo Cup as practice for TP52s, we'll see. More importantly, the J World wishes all three teams good luck!
* 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 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/
* 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). 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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Head for the ID gate on a run. Sheet in main to show number, nearly there, just slip below and don the required life jacket, get acknowledgement from Race Officer. Not long to the 5 minute gun now, watch the tide, strong and away from the line, want to stay in touch. A quick check over the deck. Hmmm, the in-hauler will work better if I put the jib sheet through the stainless ring!
The BVI Spring Regatta hots up! All the time. Between the sailing on the water and the afternoon and evening entertainment, it's hard not to be entertained. For starters, they had the Bastanaak Swimwear and Beachwear Show, poolside, at the Nanny Cay Resort on Saturday afternoon. They exhibited stunning styles, handmade in South America from Bastanaak's Juliana Diaz Molano. Then, the day before, they had the spectacular aerial dancer, Nichole Raab who usually performs on the tall ship PROVIDENCE! However, she performed in the air suspended between massive palm trees along the shore at the Regatta Village. Then, the bands in the Village for late evening entertainment were quite good, with "Hudson & the Hoo Doo Cats" performing Friday and "Quito & the Edge" performing Saturday night. It was fun for all around the harbor and the resort pools and beaches! Can't imagine why anyone would want to leave after such a bacchanalian festival! For 
For the rest of the J/80 teams, it was a battle to overcome cold as well as the challenge of sailing smart. In the beginning, ATLANTIS's Louis Sambron gave Brezellec's crew on INTERFACE CONCEPT some tough battles. But, a 19-5-38 on Saturday killed their chances of being a contender for the lead. The same was true for Michael Vasquez's GOLD SAILING from Spain, accumulating a 7, BFD and 14 to drop them from contention as well. Then, the team on GENERALI led by Nicolas Lunven compounded finishes of 10-9-10 over the first 7 races with a 26th in race 9 on Saturday to torpedo their chances as well. In the end, while Brezellec's win was a "runaway", a total score over ten races of 12 points (seven 1sts, 2,3 as counters), the fight for the balance of the top five was a dog fight, to say the least. In the end, Vazquez's team on GOLD SAILING hung in to finish 2nd overall, a full thirty points back from Brezellec's with 42 pts. Lying third just one point back was Lunven's GENERALI with 43 pts. One point back in fourth was Sambron's ATLANTIS with 44 pts and rounding out the top five watching all the drama unfold before him was Simon Moriceau's team on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2. 
As for the J/70s, suffering no less than their counterparts in the J/80s, the cold was equally taxing on their abilities to sail fast and smart and not be too "numb" from the chilly, windy sailing conditions. In the end, perhaps the ultimate survivor was M Thomas skippering OEUST GREEMENT, winning the J/70 class by just one point! The top four places were so close, that the last race determined how the entire top five finished in the overall standings. Second was Fred Bouvier of J/Composites sailing J BECRE. Third was M. Kerscaven sailing PL YACHTING with 24 pts. Fourth was FLAHAULT MARINE sailed by M. Ferchaud, perhaps sailing the most "dyslexic" series- five 1sts and three 10ths! Rounding out the top five was M. Chapelot sailing ALBERTO.
Nevertheless, the hardy souls on the Solent proved yet again sailors are ready for the next Ice Age, prevailing in the 15+ kts winds on Easter Sunday and completing two races to conclude the Royal Ocean Racing Club's UK season opener and training regatta.
* J/30 Owners Meet at US Watercraft Rendezvous- the March event was a big success with a strong showing by the J/30 Class. There were fifteen J/30 owners represented (seen here). The factory tour provided an opportunity to see a combination of the technologies and craftsmanship required to build the original J/30s. There were breakout seminars covering boat design, boat maintenance, diesel engines, navigation instruments, construction techniques, and many more. 
* J/24 World Champion Ken Read from Newport, Rhode Island, now North Sails President, is at it again. Just recently, Kenny skippered the J-Class yacht HANUMAN, an evolution of the famous America's Cup winner RANGER to victory in the St Barth's Bucket Regatta. He was part of sailing history yet again, participating as skipper for owner Jim Clark's HANUMAN in a fleet of FIVE J-Class sailboats racing against each other, the largest such fleet since 1937. Boats on the line included: HANUMAN, LIONHEART, VELSHEDA, RAINBOW & RANGER. On board HANUMAN were a veritable "Newport Mafia" of sailors, including none other than famous bowman Jerry Kirby, Volvo 70 PUMA Project Manager Kimo Worthington and USA 470 Olympic Gold Medallist Kevin Burnham.
A "Wrong Way Around" race wrapped up sailing on the final race of the four-day St. Barths Bucket Regatta. The race course, which covered 21nm, reversed Friday's "Around the Island" journey and put boat handling skills to the test right off the bat with a downwind start. This was a historic event for the J Class and HANUMAN proved unbeatable throughout the three days, winning handily over the line and on corrected time in the first two of three races. Sunday, LIONHEART edged out HANUMAN by just two seconds at the line, but HANUMAN still prevailed on corrected time to leave LIONHEART in second overall.
