J/111 Europeans PreviewJ/80 French Cup @ Normandy Sailing Week
(Le Havre, France)- From June 5 to 9, nine one-design J/111s will be participating in Normandy Sailing Week in Le Havre, France. As part of this series, the J/111 will be sailing their first European Championships. And, with a good weather forecast for the long weekend, it should prove to be very competitive racing.
Frederic Bouvier, President of the J/111 European class and business manager of the French builder J-Composites commented, "We are pleased, after the debut one-design event at SPI Ouest France 2012, that nine J/111s will be sailing in Normandy Sailing Week for the J/111 Europeans. The sailors come from Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland and France. The idea is to establish a circuit for J/111s in Europe, with a friendly social atmosphere ashore and with spirited, high-level of competition on the water. The J/111 is a great boat for this type of one-design offshore racing, it allows a fast ride with comfort and the boats are very equal in speed-- it's what the owners are seeking. J-Composites will be on site with equipment to support the owners. A big 'Thank You' to the organizers of Normandy Sailing Week to welcome us for the first European J/111 Championship."
It's clear many of the best teams in Europe are showing up. From France, the winner of SPI Ouest 2012 J/111 class, J-LANCE 8, will be skippered by Didier Le Moal (seen here at right) and he is joined by fellow Frenchmen Bertant Coutoure (CNV). From the Netherlands will be the experienced and highly regarded offshore racing team on XCENTRIC RIPPER, sailed by John Van der Starre and Robin Verhoef. Representing Belgium is Sebastien de Liedekerke skippering DJINN. Then five veteran teams are sailing from Great Britain, including 2012 Cowes Week and Round Island Champion Duncan McDonald on SHMOKIN' JOE; 109 and 111 champions David & Kirsty Apthorp on J-DREAM; Rick Barnes on BIELA MUNKENBECK; James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE and Tony Mack's McFLY. The outcome of the nine fast boats will be extremely difficult to handicap as all teams have made massive improvements over the past year and this is the first time they've all come together as a fleet since SPI Ouest France 2012! Should be fun!Of note, sailing in the same venue will be the over thirty J/80s participating in the fourth part of their J/80 French Cup Series. Many of the top teams that have their eyes set on the J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France are sailing since this is the last major regatta in Europe before the Worlds. Top contenders are likely to be Eric Brezellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT from France. The regatta also sees the debut of the Moscow, Russian team J'HALLUCINE sailed by Andrei Samoylov and the debut of the Oman Sail Team Al Thuraya Bank Muscat sailed by Asar Al Ajmi. For more J/111 Europeans and J/80 Normandy Sailing Week information
Chicago NOOD Regatta PreviewOne-Design J/105, J/109, J/111 Fleets Sailing!
(Chicago, IL)- Sailing from June 7th to 9th will be what many consider to be the celebration that ushers in the summer sailing season off the Chicago waterfront, the Sperry Topsider Chicago NOOD Regatta hosted by Chicago Yacht Club. It's one of the biggest regattas in the Sailing World NOOD circuit and 153 boats are participating with 33 J teams sailing (about 22% of the fleet and the dominant offshore brand at the regatta).
There will be three J one-design fleets participating, including J/105s, J/109s and J/111s. In addition, there are J's sailing in the PHRF Racing and ORR Offshore racing and cruising fleets.
With seven entries, the J/111s will be sailing in the first part of their Great Lakes Circuit that culminates in the J/111 North Americans sailed at Chicago YC in August. That circuit includes Chicago NOOD, Chicago-Mackinac Race, Verve Cup Offshore and the J/111 NA's. The racing will be close as nearly all the teams will have two years of racing under their belts. And, other than the fact that KASHMIR has won the Chicago-Mac Race the last two years running in the class, all the "round-the-cans" events have produced excellent sailing and different teams hopping onto the podium each time. With good crews on all boats, it's next to impossible to handicap these horses at the local betting parlor on the south side. Nevertheless, six of the players are familiar competitors (Paul Stahlberg's MENTAL, Steve Dabrowski's NIGHTHAWK, the trio of Miz/Dreher/Hatfield on IMPULSE that won Chicago NOOD last year, Rich Witzel's ROWDY, the trio of Brummel/Henderson/Mayer on KASHMIR and Len Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE). With closed-course racing, all will win, place or show in many races during the regatta. Newcomer to the gangsters in Chicago will be William Smith's WOOTON from Bay Harbor YC. For the J/105s, this year again sees the return of good teams, but the keynote will be whether yet another team finds their form early and dominates the regatta as has happened for the past two years. Last year's winner STRIKING (Mike Tuman) will be sailing to defend their title. Chasing them again will be Tom & Gyt Petkus on VYTIS, second in last year's event and also Clark Pellett's SEALARK, third last year.
In the J/109s, several top teams are in attendance, including top Chicago Mackinac and J/109 North American contenders. Sure to be a factor will be Jack Toliver's VANDA III with Don Meyer's CERTAINLY and Kevin Saedi's MOMENTUS giving them a run-for-the-roses!
In the handicap racing world, there have been a few new fleets added this year. Starting with PHRF 1, we'll see Mitch Padnos's J/122 SUFFICIENT REASON near the top of the pack and two sistership J/130s, Bob Mcmanus's EDGE and Jim Gignac's SALSA will be right in there with them (hopefully all on the podium!). In PHRF 2 are two J/35s, Larry Taunt's BAD DOG and Larry Schell's famous, championship winning TOUCH OF GREY. Sailing PHRF 3 are the J/27 TRUE NORTH (Dan Arntzen) and the J/30 PLANXTY (Kate & Dennis Bartley).
While the rest of the NOOD sailors are banging their heads around the cans, the Offshore contingent will enjoy a nice "tour de Chicago" going around longer distances and government markers in ORR and PHRF classes. In the ORR Race class is the J/105 OCH! (Brendon Doherty) and the J/124 STILL MESSIN' (Adam Esselman). In ORR Cruise is the J/100 BARRACUDA sailed by David Hughes. Fair winds and good luck to all, a simply smashing social event for three straight days, sponsored by Mt Gay Rum amongst other notable sponsors! For more Sperry Topsider Chicago NOOD Regatta sailing information
J/70 N.A.'s Sold Out!(Annapolis, MD)- Anticipation was high for the first ever J/70 North American Championship, but no one expected the overwhelming, rapid response to the opening of registration this past Monday. In what may be a world-record for any one-design fleet (dinghy, catamaran or keelboat), the regatta reached its 90-boat entry threshold within 28 hours!! That's stunning, it will be sailing's version of a "Woodstock rock festival" as hundreds of J sailors flock to the Chesapeake Bay in September. Hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club and J/70 Fleet 1, the J/70 North American Championship will take place from September 26-28, 2013. The list of sailors participating is simply astounding, with many World, North American and European champions from dozens of classes participating.
Regatta registration opened on Monday, June 3 at 9:30 am ET, and J/70 sailors from across North America flooded the event website until the 90-boat limit was achieved around 12:30 pm ET on Tuesday, June 4. “In 35 years of sailing, I’ve never seen anything close to this,” exclaimed J/70 Class President Joe Colling of Ohio! “Watching the registration all day and seeing those numbers keep climbing demonstrates the unbelievable enthusiasm for the J/70. It’s already an epic event!”
Event organizers limited entries to 90 boats to ensure the highest level of race management and onsite logistics. Competitors may still sign-up and be placed on a wait list.
If you have any questions, you can contact event co-chairs Kathy Parks (kathyparks10@gmail.com/ ph# 443-386-9057) or Will Keyworth (will@sales.northsails.com/ ph# 410-269-5662). Any questions about Annapolis YC should be directed to Regatta Manager Linda Ambrose (lambrose@annapolisyc.org/ ph# 410-263-9147 x106). Sailing photo credit- Onne Vanderwal. For more J/70 North Americans sailing information
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
And what a week it was. The beginning of June always has some surprises in store for sailors around the globe. Starting in Europe, the world's largest known around island sailboat race, the JP Morgan Asset Management Round Island Race took place in what could only be described as "perfect" conditions; so perfect that sailing records were broken, J sailors were ecstatic and the new "baby J" blew away the best of the best in the "Sportsboat Division".On the far side of the pond, the America's saw a number of events on both coasts that ushered in the start of the sailing summer. On the East Coast, the completion of a fabulously fast "Down the Bay Race" then led to a fantastic regatta known as the Southern Bay Race Week held in the southern parts of the Chesapeake Bay, hosted by the Hampton Yacht Club in Virginia. This event marked the debut of the J/70 one-design class and saw great competition in PHRF classes as well the J/24 class. Out West, the highly regarded California Yacht Club hosted their Cal Race Week-- it was, in fact, more like a de-facto "J/Fest" with fleets of J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s and J/109s representing almost half of the participants in the regatta. Further north, there was a Western Regional J/22 Match Race Qualifiers for the US Sailing Match Race Championships held on San Francisco Bay.
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:
Jun 7-9- Chicago NOOD Regatta (105, 109, 111)- Chicago, ILJun 14-16- New York YC Annual Regatta (70, 80, 111, 122)- Newport, RI
Jun 14-16- J/Cup Celtic Regatta- Pwllheli, Wales, UK
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- Kiel, Germany
Jun 27-30- J/22 Europeans- Zierikzee, Netherlands
Jul 4-7- J/24 UK Nationals- Plymouth, England
Jul 6-13- J/80 World Championships- Marseilles, France
Jul 12-14- Bacardi Newport Regatta (22, 24, 70, 80, 105)
Jul 13-15- Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jul 25-28- J/30 North Americans- Barrington, RI
Jul 26-28- J/70 New Englands/ NOOD- Marblehead, MA
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
Aug 22-30- J/24 Worlds- Howth (Dublin), Ireland
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/70 SPITFIRE Dominates Round Island Sportboats!
J/122 SKY HUNTER Smokes Cruising 4B, J/100 Duo Crush Cruising 5B
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- Saturday 1st of June was certainly a day to remember, a day of highs, and more highs and, it was a day for Round the Island Race records to tumble. It was the day when Great Britain's most successful Olympic sailor, Sir Ben Ainslie (past J/24, J/80 and J/109 sailor/tactician) and his all-British crew aboard JP Morgan BAR, trounced the existing Round the Island Race multihull record, held for 12 years, by an impressive 16 minutes. Equalling this awesome, impressive feat was Simon Ling's team aboard the J/70 SPITFIRE, just blowing away their 15 boat Sportboat Class by 15 minutes on corrected time and were declared winner of the prestigious Sir Edward Heath Trophy (named after a former British Prime Minister who dearly loved sailing).
As dawn broke over the Solent, a weak weather front was clearing away to the east, leaving clear skies and a northerly airflow in its wake. The wind strength peaked at 17-22 knots as the front passed over, reducing to 13-17 knots for the first starters. It was clear it was going to be a day to break records for all kinds of boats, especially with flat water and a good wind angle on every leg of the course. A critical turning point in the race, St Catherine's Point, had a comfortable 15 kts with occasional gusts to 20-25 kts to make for fast surfing or planing for the lighter boats. It was nearly idyllic sailing conditions for the massive 1,500 boat fleet. However, by the time Simon Ling’s J/70 SPITFIRE, the leading sportsboat, was approaching Bembridge Ledge at 1030 hrs there were holes appearing in the breeze, with just 5-6 knots reported in places. Otherwise, conditions remain glorious on the water, with almost unbroken sun now warming the 15,000 sailors after a cold start to the day. The many J teams that sailed enjoyed a fabulous day on the water, many having the opportunity to hop on the podium as well. Starting with the top of the pack, the fifty-nine boat IRC 0 Division saw the J/133 JERONIMO get 16th in class and the American J/120 EL OCASO skippered by Rick Wesslund's Caribbean-dominating crew from Miami, FL managing a 35th.
In IRC 1A with 28 entries were the five J/111s. As J/111 champion and sixth in class was Tony Mack's McFLY. Second J/111 and 10th in class was JITTERBUG. Third J/111 and 14th in class was Rick Barne's MUNKENBECK. Fourth J/111 and 16th in class was James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE. Fifth J/111 and 19th in class was the Belgian team DJINN sailed by Sebastien de Liedekerke. The J/122 JACOB's LADDER was 21st in class.
As a whole,the J/109s did very well in the race. In IRC 2A with 36 entries and with half the class being J/109s, it was pretty certain they could dominate the standings. And, they did. Four of the top five, eight of the top twelve is not bad. In the top five were JAHMALI in 2nd, BASIC INSTINCT in 3rd, JYNNAN TONNYX in 4th and BLUE JAY in fifth. The lone J/39 XTREME finished a very respectable 13th in this competitive crowd. In IRC 2B, the J/Team's domination was extraordinary, taking 15 of the top 20 places. The J/109 SHADOWFAX took 3rd, the J/105 JELLY BABY was 4th, the J/105 NEILSON REDEYE was 5th, the J/109 J'TAIME was 6th, the J/109 JIBE was 7th and two J/105s rounded out top ten, JOS OF HAMBLE and JACKPOT, 9th and 10th, respectively. Quite a show for this flock of J's.
A J/105 also put on a good show in IRC 2C, with the beautiful, strikingly dark hull of KING LOUIE taking second in their 29 boat class.Top J in the 47 boat IRC 2D class was the J/97 ETB TYRES JIGGERY POKERY in 5th place. Next J in line was the J/97 INDULJENCE in 7th. Ninth was yet another J/97, JEOPARDY 2, followed by another sistership J/97 JET in 11th.
The J/92s J'RONIMO managed a 7th in the 42 boat IRC 3A division. The other J/92 FORZA was 17th and the J/32 DOMAINE got 18th (not bad for a "J-cruiser"!).
In the "cruising" white-sails ISCRS 4B division with 46 entries, the J crew did fantastically well, taking three of the top five! Winning class was a veteran offshore race and trans-Atlantic champion- Peter Bainbridge's J/122 SKY HUNTER. They were followed in third by the J/109 SARDONYX IX and in fifth was the J/120 ASSARAIN III. Also hanging tough was the J/92 JAMMIN taking 14th in class. On a percentage basis, these four J's were "best in J handicap performance" for a given class! Congrats to all for a "jolly good show!"
No one would've imagined that several of the Solent J/100s would be setting the bar as high as they did in this year's Round Island Race. They certainly seemed to enjoy the gorgeous day and must've sailed a very inspired race. Two J/100s took first and second in the 46 boat ISCRS 5B class, THUNDER SQUALL and ALAMARA B II, respectively. Their sistership CHARLOTTE took 11th. This trio nearly equalled the overall J class performance of their friends in ISCRS 4B.Then, the classic J/24s have a trio hunting for silver in forty boat IRC 6C division. One of the "not so clew-less" teams happened to be the J/24 called CLEWLESS (GBR4044), sailed by her three co-owners from Southampton University. They sailed to a very respectable 6th in class!
The fourteen boat IRC Sportsboat class saw very, very fast sailing. While Ling's J/70 SPITFIRE dominated overall, what's important to note is that they beat a Melges 32 by 15 minutes on corrected time and a pro-sailed Bavaria B-One by over half an hour elapsed-- that's quite a feat! Next up were a string of Royal Yacht Squadron/ Royal Thames YC J/80 one-designs with ROYAL 1 taking 4th, ROYAL 5 in 6th, ROYAL 2 in 7th and ROYAL 3 in 9th. Finally, the eleven boat J/80 one-design class was a closely fought affair with the top five finishing within four minutes of each other on elapsed time after 50nm of sailing! The winner by 30 seconds was J.A.T, followed by SURF & TURF in 2nd, WILD WALLY in 3rd, ROCK & ROLL in 4th and JASMINE in 5th. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth @ PWPictures.com. For more Round The Island Race sailing information
J/Fest @ Cal Race WeekOne-Design J/24s, J/70s, J/80s, J/105s, J/109s Lovin' SoÇal Sunshine
(Marina del Rey, CA)- Cal Race Week continues to be a highlight for many sailing teams as more and more racers discover the pleasure of late spring sailing in Marina del Rey, with afternoon breezes in the low to mid-teens, sun and perfect temperatures for racing around the buoys. That's what the Marina del Rey Chamber of Commerce proclaimed before everyone headed for the race course-- one where the boats are sailing in the shadows of the monstrous LAX Airport and having to sometimes suffer from their noise abatement take-off procedures for such lilliputian jumbo jets like the Airbus 380!
Despite the noise to the south, the standard "sea breeze" blows most of the noise away as it fills in from the WNW and builds all day long, thanks to the mountain ranges to the east and massive amounts of concrete throughout the smog-ridden Los Angeles basin sucking in all the breeze. The enormous benefit of this phenomenon is that sailors enjoy beautiful, crystal-clear, smog-free days along a somewhat picturesque coastline.
Furthermore, what many SoCal sailors have come to know, is that California Yacht Club has won US SAILING’s prestigious St. Petersburg trophy for excellence in race management three times in recent years! Multiple courses with separate start/finish lines minimize interference between boats in different classes and insure that most of your time on the water will be spent racing. No kidding, the Cal YC RC team does a fantastic job of keeping the pace rolling with fleets starting and finishing at the same time!The weekend’s hospitality was a fitting complement to the on-the-water competition. There was entertainment both days, with hosted beverages on the docks after racing (yes, ice-cold, refreshing local micro-brewery beer served from a kegger on the dock!). Plus, it's hard to beat their no-host BBQ on Saturday and complimentary beverages with hors d’oeuvres at the trophy presentation on Sunday.
Enjoying every minute of the weekend were a small armada of J Teams enjoying the fine weather and fabulous hospitality. While the regatta attracted 77 boats from around SoCal, ranging from Santa Barbara to the north and San Diego to the south, fully 38% of the fleet (29 boats) were J sailors racing one-design in J/70s, J/80s, J/109s, J/105s and J/24s.
For Saturday's racing, the wind started out in the NW quadrant and slowly backed to the WNW. As a result, the old axiom of "left early, right late" never worked. In fact, the strategy of the day was highly atypical for the area with "go West young man" being the order of the day. Sunday's racing was quite radically different, too. Despite filling in from the SW due to an enormous High pressure ridge, the wind never clocked (or did so rarely), so the breeze funneling down the coast had greater pressure and lifts coming from the left upwind (and, conversely, downwind). As a result, the "south of the border" strategy appeared to be the order of the day. Strange, that it was!On Course 1, just immediately outside of the Marina del Rey harbor jetties, were the J/109s and J/105s. What became abundantly clear after the first three races on Saturday is that both fleets had runaway winners in the making. In the J/109s, Tom Brott's ELECTRA led the regatta from start to finish, accumulating a 1-2-1-1-1 for six pts. Second was Bryce Benjamin's PERSISTENCE with a 2-3-3-2-3 for 13 pts, narrowly edging Peter Nelson's SPRAY that posted a 3-1-2-4-4 for 14 pts.
The J/105s saw a similar scenario. In their case, Gary Mozer's team on CURRENT OBSESSION 2 posted straight firsts to win with 5 pts. In second was Rick Goebel's team on SANITY posting straight 2nds for 10 pts. The real battle in the J/105s was for third, and that went down to the wire in the last race. Snatching the bronze medal on the podium was Rich Bermann's ZUNI BEAR with a 3-5-3-5-3 score for 19 pts. They just edge out Scott McDaniel's OFF THE PORCH with 20 pts and Steve Howell's BLINK with 21 pts.
Course 2, north of the Marina del Rey jetties and halfway to the Santa Monica Pier, were the fleets of J/70s, J/80s and J/24s. The J/70s debut in the Cal Week regatta saw good, close racing. In the end, the Jenkins/ Kownacki duo on DFZ took the crown, winning with a 2-1-1-5-1 record for 10 pts. Starting strong but fading on the first race Sunday was Karl Pomeroy's ZERO TO 60, accumulating a 1-2-3-4-2 for 12 pts to take second. Third was Dan Gribble's GO-RILLA showing they were quick learners after a very slow Saturday, amassing scores of 5-5-2-1-4 for 17 pts to snatch third overall! They very narrowly beat-out two of their competitors on become a nearly three-way tie for third! Craig Tallman's JAYA won that battle for 4th while Sean O'Keefe on DECOLORES 3 for 5th. The J/80s produced one of the other perfect scorelines, with Curt Johnson's AVET again taking the crown for their "three-peat" win in Cal Race Week by taking straight firsts for 5 pts. The battle was really for the balance of the podium with the outcome determined by the last two races on Sunday. Taking second was Steve Wyman's NUHUNU with 3-2-2-2-3 scores for 12 pts, nipping by one point that team of BLUE JAY sailed by Bob Hayward with a 2-3-3-3-2 tally for 13 pts.
J/24s nearly had another clean sweep by the top boat, but perhaps lack of practice or focus got them in trouble in the first race (or maybe it was the beer on the dock!). Nevertheless, Dave Klatt's team on JADED dominated with a 2nd and four 1sts for 6 pts. Second was past J/24 North American Champion, Pat Toole on 3 BIG DOGS from Santa Barbara YC, taking 1st and four 2nds for 9 pts total. Third, just holding their edge over the next three boats was Jim Bauerley on CRITTER with a 4-4-3-6-4 tally for 21 pts. Sailing photo credits- Bronny Daniels/ Joysailing.com For more Cal Race Week sailing informationRocket-fast J/24 Blasts TP-52s in Epic Down the Bay Race
J/40 and J/120 Sail Fast, Too!
(Norfolk, VA)- Over the Memorial Day/ Bank Holiday weekend, the Virginia Cruising Cup hosts the renown 120nm "Down the Bay" offshore race that goes from Annapolis, Maryland to Hampton, Virginia. The conditions could only be described as "epic", with winds howling out of the NNW (the same breezes that powered course records in the FIGAWI Race to Nantucket and the Block Island Race on Long Island Sound). This meant the fleet was blessed with broad reaching and downwind running conditions with big waves on the Chesapeake Bay and winds gusting 20 to 30 kts.
It's not often that a 35+ year old J "classic" completely dominates an offshore event anywhere. But, true to form as it has since 1977, a well-sailed J/24 can be competitive offshore. With conditions that were well suited to its ability to sail fast downwind, planing more often than not, the J/24 ROCKET J (appropriately named, of course) sailed by Neil Ford won its class by two hours and finished 2nd overall to a Hobie 33, beating the first TP 52 by 106 minutes corrected (the same TP 52 set a course record of 7:02:32, beating the old one by 5 hours!). That's one helluva fast race! Neil and crew did 120 nm in 13 hrs, 52 min and 26 secs! That's an 8.5 kts average in a little 24 foot boat!
While Neil and crew were celebrating deliriously, so were some of their sisterships! The J/120 SAYKADOO sailed by Stephen McManus managed to beat a fast Evelyn 42, a brand new Farr 400 and the TP 52 to win PHRF A1 Class! Perhaps even more amazing, the cruising J/40 SOLSTICE sailed by Jim Bordeaux finished second in PHRF A2 class and was 3rd in fleet overall, just behind the J/24!! They were followed by the cruising J/42 SCHEMATIC sailed by Robert Fox that finished 4th in class! For more Virginia Cruising Cup Down the Bay Race sailing information
Breault Take US Match Racing Regionals(Sausalito, CA)- The Regional qualifiers for the US Match Racing Championship (Prince of Wales Bowl) began on June 1-2, 2013 at Sausalito Yacht Club for US Sailing Areas GHJL. Eight teams of four sailors each competed in a blustery and challenging weekend of racing on the nearly new fleet of J-22s supplied by the St. Francis YC.
Just off a flight from London, where she competed on the St. Francis team that crushed the competition in two-on-two team racing in J-80’s at the Cornerstone Cup at Cowes, three time All-American skipper Nicole Breault and her talented team of St. Francis members Evan Brown, Chris Trezzo and Hannah Burroughs nearly ran the table with only one loss in 14 matches. This was an remarkable feat given the experienced competition and frequent 60 degree wind shifts, with winds ranging from zero to 25 kts on the course set off Belvedere Point at the entrance to Richardson Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay.
PRO Jeff Zarwell kept the program rolling and managed to get off all the matches with few delays despite the radical conditions. In second place was another college sailing All-American, Jackson Benvenutti, who coaches high school teams at San Francisco Yacht Club. Third place was nabbed by Redwood High School senior Scotty Buckstaff, who will be attending Stanford in the fall. In winning this event, Breault qualified for the US Match Racing Championship finals to be held at Sail Sheboygan on September 18-22. San Diego YC will host the next GHJL Qualifier on June 15-16, also in J-22s.
Next up for Breault is the Grade 2 New York Women’s Invitational Match Racing event at Oakcliff Sailing Center, the US stop for the Women's International Match Race Series." Thanks for contribution from Bruce Stone. Sailing photo credits- Roxanne Fairbairn's "RoxShots"
J/Sailors Love Southern Bay Week
(Hampton, VA)- One of the highlights of the southern Chesapeake Bay racing season is the Southern Bay Race Week hosted by Hampton Yacht Club. The event actually starts with the annual "feeder race" from Annapolis, the "Down the Bay Race". After the racers have recuperated from their blast down the Chesapeake, the Hampton YC plays host to an amazing regatta that is loaded with an enormous amount of social activities and festivities for the next four days straight! Great bands, great food and simply fabulous Southern hospitality. No wonder its popular for "those in the know" in the mid-Atlantic region.
For their debut event, the J/70s had a good turnout for Southern Bay. In the end, it was evident the teams were all on an enormous learning curve as some boats that did well in the beginning sound found themselves on a slippery slope trying to cope with others who were learning how to go faster and apply better tactics upwind and, especially, downwind. Locals Ron Thompson and crew started strongly but struggled later in the regatta. Their 1-1-2-1-4-1-3 for 13 pts sealed the deal to win the J/70s. The Kimbrough boys on NOSTALGIA sailed well and their 3-4-1-3-3-2-1 for 17 pts was good enough to take a comfortable second overall. Third was John Hanna sailing VORTEX Racing, beating on a tie-breaker their friend Basil Rowland sailing GETMYBOAT.COM.
In the J/24 world, the ROCKET J boys found their groove and were going to keep pounding away after their roaring success in the "Down the Bay Race". Neil Ford and gang sailed a solid series to score a 1-2-3-2-4-1 for 13 pts to lead from the start and take the class. The battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th place was truly a herculean struggle, with nearly all three boats tied. After the dust cleared, taking second by a tie-breaker was MIZZMO sailed by Ben Carver with a 3-1-4-4-1-4 for 17 pts. Losing that battle was Alan Bomar's ROUNDABOUY with a 4-4-1-3-3-2 scoreline for 17 pts. Finally, Mike Veraldi's QUICKY took fourth despite having the BEST RECORD in the last four races! QUICKY's very slow start ended with a profusion of top three finishes, but their scores of 5-5-2-1-2-3 for 18 pts wasn't going to cut it to crack the top three.
In PHRF A, it was nearly a J class clean sweep! Imagine this, a 1982 J/36 and modern J/109 (about the same size) simply crushes a brand spanking new Farr 400! Yeah, it did happen. Winning class was the J/36 SEA STAR sailed by David Eberwine. Second was future sistership J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT sailed by Craig Wright. Fourth was the J/36 FEATHER sailed by Phil Briggs. Quite the performance by a vintage J/Crew in this division!
The terrific performance exhibited by Jim Bordeaux sailing his J/40 SOLSTICE in the Down the Bay Race was repeated, to some degree, again by their remarkable finish in PHRF A2. A J/40 cruising sailboat that is racing against serious racing/ performance boats like a Hobie 33, Soverel 33, Frers 36, C&C 99 and Olson 33 gets fifth overall! Kudos to the Bordeaux crew!
The highly competitive PHRF B1 class saw the classic J/29 RUMBLE sailed by the Ben Weeks/ Michele Cochran duo from Yorktown, VA take second in class.
In PHRF C, the J/22 NOT SO BLUE sailed by Pete Wallio was "laying some serious pipe" in the last three races (1-1-2) to grab third overall. It can be said they would've been happy to somehow ditch their experience in the first two races which netted them 10 pts (6-4)-- perhaps an issue of being "asleep at the wheel"?
In PHRF Cruising A class, the J/37 JENERAL'S LADY sailed by Jim Chapman from Virginia Beach, VA sailed nicely to grab third overall in their class. For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information
The J/Boats "Impact" Developing Sailing Markets Worldwide(Liuzhou, Guangxi Province, China)- Developing recreational sports in countries such as China has always been a challenge. The economies in these developing countries have been in booms, the wealth has come in to the households, but the people do not have the background and knowledge that developed nations have had to really enjoy the boating life. Lack of swimming, fear of water and lack of good instruction are all real things that need to be addressed before you can even get new sailors on the water. Riviera Liuzhou Yacht Club in Guangxi Province, China has a formula that is working. This location is in the heart of China, 5 hours from any coastline-- not the location most would think would see the largest growth of new keel boat sailors in Asia.
Two years ago, Mr. He and Frank Lin of Liuzhou had the idea of starting a club. They pushed the local government for access to get things started. With docks completed in October of 2011 they hosted their first national Masters Cup Regatta with 14 new club-owned International J/80 one-designs. Not really knowing what they were up against, they were smart to bring in some help to organize and run the event. In the spring of 2012 they hosted another Masters Cup Regatta. They invited sailors from around China, Hong Kong and Singapore; as a result most of the Asian sailing world began to understand where Liuzhou was located and its promise for opportunity. But, this did little for local sailing. As we all know, local sailing is the key to growth.
In the Summer of 2012, Jim Johnstone starting working with Liuzhou to help them train the instructors establish the sailing program and help them create some local teams to compete in other events around china. As of June 2012 there were a handful of instructors that had sailed before this program started.
With many days on the water practicing and several local companies taking instruction from the club, the first base of sailors was generated and the instructors continued to improve their skills. Liuzhou won the China Club Match Challenge and was also 5th out of the 28 team fleet. Recently, Liuzhou sailors were 4th in the China Cup and 1st in the Round Hainan Regatta in Sanya (the "Hawaii" of China, its southernmost island resort where the 2012 Volvo Ocean Race stop-over was hosted). The Liuzhou sailing team then went on to compete in Qingdao where they placed 1st in 8 out of the 9 races. With many more events scheduled for 2013, Liuzhou is a city that other teams are worried about competing against! That's a remarkable transformation for what many thought were "farmers" in the outback of China!What was still missing was local racing going into 2013. With 14 boats available the club went out to the students that had taken lessons and pushed for each of the sailors that had some background to sign up for a boat and bring friends that didn't have any knowledge but wanted to learn. An 8 week Sunday series was born with all 14 boats signed up. Sailing was simple windward-leeward courses with spinnakers and a goal of 5 races per afternoon between 1pm and 3:30pm. Prior to racing there was a 30 minutes instructional class that would cover whatever topic the fleet seemed to need the most from the previous weekend (spinnaker handling tips, rules lessons, basic tactics, sportsmanship etc.).
One rule was that there needed to be a club member on each boat. However, the club has two memberships. An associate membership that allowed limited use of club boats and access to the docks or the full membership that would allow full access including the club house that is not completed yet. Membership is important not only for showing growth but to cover the people under the club insurance policy.
Each Sunday, the Riviera Yacht Club gets 70 to 90 new sailors showing up to compete in these races. None of the trained instructors were allowed to sail in any of the boats and coaching was provided on the water with two inflatable crash boats. However, instruction was limited to the following: a) coaching the last two place boats if they fall behind the fleet and b) on-the-water judging to help people with the rules and keep the damage to a minimum.
The race committee was also keeping things simple: Postponement flag, individual recall flag and general recall flags along with a race committee flag were all that were used. Three minute dinghy starts were used so no sailors needed a stop watch. 2 minutes after the last boat finishes the next start would sound. Only windward leeward courses, but depending on the wind, the distance would change. The race committee had the ability to limit sails in conditions of higher winds. No spinnakers, even no jibs were used at different times to make sure that the overall group was capable of managing the boats around the course and keep it fun.
Whether you are racing Cowes Race Week, Yachting Cup, Key West Race Week, China Cup or any of the other events around the world it is very difficult to imagine so many inexperienced people out racing at one time. If you are in Newport or Hong Kong you may have several new boats to a fleet but most of the boats have a veteran or experienced sailor as part of the crew. They may not be good, but there is someone on the boat with experience. The J/80 being a very forgiving sailing platform, the protected river environment allow Liuzhou to pull this off more then some of the other exposed sailing areas.
Thanks to the foresight of the Riviera Yacht Club owners for getting this program started and we look forward to seeing this success spread in developing sailing areas around the world. If anyone wants more information or advice about these types of sailing development programs worldwide, please contact J/Boats- info@jboats.com or ph. +1-401-846-8410.
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* J/24s Make Headlines in New York Times Sunday issue? For the simply enormous impact that it can have on the world, if not just America, and even lesser yet, New York City, it's always wonderful to see "sailing" (whatever that is on the level of world news) get featured in the famous, eponymous New York Sunday Times. Nevertheless, because of "sailing's" location at the bottom of that former island sand-spit known as Manhattan, it does get noticed when Wall Street's most famous investment banks, hedge funds, and leading edge financial wizards go "playing" on the Hudson River in the shadows of that beautiful girl, the Statute of Liberty, and the newly ascendant 1,776 ft Independence Tower. Cool, eh? Here's an excerpt from the NY Times article that describes life aboard the "Honorable William Wall", anchored immediately northeast of Ellis Island:
"Can anyone entirely explain the unquestionable pleasure of drinking by the sea? Perhaps there is a natural felicity in casually consuming one form of liquid while gazing at another — or perhaps the coastal cocktail is an atavism of our lost amphibian past.
Then again, it could be something simpler, something related to the off-the-cuff remark that Eliot Claus, a lifelong seadog, made the other night on the beverage deck of the Honorable William Wall, a waterborne watering hole moored during the warmer months on the never-ending chop of New York Harbor. “It’s pretty basic,” Mr. Claus, 60, suggested, looking at the skyline, a white wine in his hand. “Sailors like to drink.”
The Willy Wall, as the cognoscenti call it, is — officially — the clubhouse for the Manhattan Sailing Club, an organization that since 1987 has catered to the oceangoing urges of New York City’s nautical community. A two-story barge christened with the name of a Civil War congressman, it is a sort of floating roadhouse where urban mariners and members of the public can gather from May until October and, as seamen like to say, get three sheets to the wind.“The idea was to build a platform where spectators could come to watch our races,” said Michael Fortenbaugh, the commodore of the club. “If you’re on a boat and the adrenaline is pumping, it’s nice to have a place where, say, your spouse can come and sip her drink in comfort and not be home just twiddling her thumbs.”
The Willy Wall, which winters at the North Cove Marina in Battery Park City, opened for the season Wednesday night. A few dozen people sat around the bar, downing beer and gin in plastic cups as a disorderly regatta unfolded on the harbor below. Thirty sailboats gathered at the starting mark, maneuvering like horseflies, with the Battery as backdrop. When the Race Committee chairman blew his horn, off they went, gliding south toward the Statue of Liberty and the course’s upwind buoy.
If you have never seen a sailboat race before, it is not exactly Nascar. The action unfolds slowly, the boats tacking back and forth in distant silence. This may account for the compensating quantities of alcohol onboard. The Willy Wall’s drinks are relatively cheap. They are served to architects, finance types and the occasional French carpenter, accompanied not only by a rhythmic Reggae soundtrack, but also by an irreplaceable view.
“The best thing about it is the harbor,” said Mr. Claus, a corporate lawyer who spends half the year in China. “You can have a terrible night racing, but still have a great night at the bar.”
Part of the greatness comes from the way you approach the Willy Wall. A vintage motorboat, the Admiral’s Launch, picks up visitors at the marina and for a $10 fee shuttles them past water taxis and ferries to a landing on the barge. (That is, until it reaches its 150-person capacity.) The launch is driven by a uniformed old salt named Captain Billy. He is a chivalrous and grizzled man, recently out of Florida, and gives the air of having spent last night inside a bottle of Haitian rum.
Finally standing topside, the city disappears into the mammoth yellow sunset lacquering New Jersey as the currents on the harbor, rolling like a water bed, dissolve all thoughts of shore. It hardly matters if the regatta is abandoned because of a lack of wind. A small breeze blows in from the Narrows, 1 World Trade Center shimmers in the twilight, tugboats pass, the air is filled with salt. “It’s pretty awesome,” said Michael Sallette, 34, a manager for Amazon, who also races sailboats for the club.
What was pretty awesome? The sailing or the drinking? Mr. Sallette gave this question thought, a plastic cup in hand. “They’re comparable,” he said. Please read more here at the New York Times.com
* J/22 Sail Newport Fleet Blessing & Invocation- this past week, Sail Newport took delivery of a brand-new fleet of J/22s from Waterline Systems. On hand to celebrate the occasion were Sail Newport's Executive Director, Brad Read. Providing the blessing for the fleet was Reverend Mary Johnstone from Newport, RI. Here is the wonderful blessing and invocation as provided by Reverend Johnstone:"O God, Creator of earth & sky & sea; all creatures great & small:
We give you thanks this day for the vision & generosity that dreamed Sail Newport into being 30 years ago. We thank you for those who have served to expand this vision for the greater good.
We ask your blessing upon all adults & children who participate in the learning, beauty & discovery of sailing.
Shield them from every danger;
guide them in making safe decisions;
abide with them in weather both fair & foul.
Grant them a spirit of adventure,
fairness in competition,
courtesy & consideration in their dealings with each other,
& the gift of joy & wonder in the wind that powers their sails.
Finally, we ask your blessing upon these 14 new sailboats.
Bless each one from the top of the mast to the tip of the keel, from bow to stern, port to starboard, above decks & below, under sail & safe at their moorings.
And now may the Holy & living God bless, preserve & keep you – on your journeys & in your dwelling places this day & always. AMEN"
* "Avast ye' matey's"! The Honourable Jack Sparrow graciously looks after the J/70 at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in Australia. Jack's doing a great job protecting the J/70 from pirates of all shapes and sizes that are invading from the islands and beaches nearby! As reported by Sandra Entwistle at the J/Australia dealership, "we had a great time at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show, and had an awesome response to the J/70. Here's a photo of ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ in front of the J/70. A very entertaining guy!" For more J/70 sailing information in Australia, please contact Yachtspot at Ph +612 9449 4976, info@yachtspot.com.au or on http://www.yachtspot.com.au
* 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).- 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.
J/Brokerage
J/65 MAITRI For SaleCustom build, sloop-rigged, J/65 is long and lean with low wetted surface, allowing the boat to be easily driven with a moderate sailplan in light airs. To make target cruising speeds of 9-10 knots, J/65 won't be as dependent upon auxiliary diesel power as most vessels in her category. A graceful sweeping sheerline and flared topsides allow for a sleek and purposeful silhouette and a dry, comfortable ride. The large, protected aft cockpit offers plenty of space to get comfortable as well as great protection offshore. MAITRI was built in 2006 and currently resides in San Diego, CA.
Contact: Jeff Brown- JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Work- 619-224-6200 or Cell- 619-709-0697
J/46 QUESTAR For SaleQuestar is an immaculate and extremely well maintained J/46 built in 2000. Commissioned for an avid and seasoned yachtsman, she is thoughtfully outfitted and well equipped and currently resides in San Diego, CA.
J/46 may be the only investment grade sailing yacht of its size not requiring professional crew to sail at designed performance levels-- or to maintain. Two people can easily manage her upwind and down to achieve the same 8 knot passage-making speeds under sail that is possible when motoring with 76hp diesel auxiliary. The joy of sailing the perfect boat is, after all, a goal we believe every owner ultimately seeks. To insure that good sailing days are spent sailing rather than scrubbing and varnishing, J/46 is designed to be virtually maintenance-free. Her exquisite joinerwork is protected from the sun-- belowdecks where it’s beauty can be preserved.
Contact: Kenyon Martin- JK3 Nautical Enterprises- wk- 619-224-6200 or cell: 858-775-5937
J/122 PENN AZEN For SaleOne of the world's most successful J/122s is for sale- hull #6 built in March 2007 by J/Europe.
PENN AZEN has been very successful since her launch in 2007:
- 2007 RORC IRC Class 1 season winner
- 2008 RORC IRC “Yacht of the Year”- plus 8 season’s awards
- 2009 Winner of UNCL Trophée Atlantique in class 1
- 2010 French Rolex Commodores Cup team and 2nd at Trophée Atlantique
- 2012 Cowes-Dinard race: 3rd in IRC Class 2 and 4th IRC Overall
Inside arrangement- 3 cabin version plus folding sea berths in the saloon – 10 berths in total
Deck/ Rigging includes- Varnished Hall spars high modulus mast and boom, Rod rigging and dyneema backstay on hydraulic adjuster, Tuff-luff Forestay and Carbon steering wheelSails- X-Voiles France- complete inventory for any offshore racing, including RORC Fastnet Race.
Electronics- Full set from NKE Electronics including carbon wind indicator, 3 mast displays and 2 cockpit displays, gyroscopic compass, gyro autopilot, plus Icom VHF with ASN and AIS receiver and Furuno GPS.
Please contact- Gwen THOMAS from Ouest Greement-
P: +33 (0)2 40 82 66 65
E: tgreementpornic@free.fr
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Nevertheless, there were some extraordinary performances by J/Teams in the fleet. For starters, the "big boys" in the Swiftsure Classic that sail out to the Swiftsure Banks and back, it was John McPhail's J/160 JAM that won the race in class and fleet! They happened to beat some of the best Pacific Northwest big boat offshore teams, including a Santa Cruz 70, Ker 46, Wylie 70 and Santa Cruz 52.
"I am loving the tradition and plucky English sailing culture of the Isle of Wight. Our team came off today with three wins and no losses, after a long delay and a single flight of light air, rainy races. Shawn Bennett is driving our boat with me, Rolf Kaiser, and Ralph Silverman as crew and our other boat is skippered by Craig Healy, with Harrison Turner, Tom Ducharme, and John Collins as crew. Mark Ivey is coaching us, and just in time for racing today, our commodore Jim Cascino and his lady Lilly arrived to cheer us on. Standing in second is New York YC followed by the Royal Yacht Squadron and Royal Thames YC.
Nicole continues here report for the second day of racing, "Today we were greeted by a 'brilliant' English morning. Brisk, blue sky with fluffy white clouds and birds chirping happily. We sailed out in a light easterly and then sat for several hours basking in the sun. Luckily, the westerly filled just as the ebb was establishing and we managed one flight of racing. StFYC finished 2-1 on the day, a long debrief afterwards on the call that cost us the race. The Royal Thames came on strong today with 2-1 and handed StFYC our first loss to win the day! Tomorrow wins are 1.5 points and the regatta is still up in the air. Forecast is for better wind, however, we fear the English rains will return with it. We are off to an evening of drinks on the Royal Yacht Squadron platform, then a carving station dinner in the pavilion out back. Having a great time, for sure!"
