SB-King Harbor Race Preview(Santa Barbara, CA)- This distance race spanning 81.0nm has been a tradition for Santa Barbara and King Harbor sailors for 41 years and for 2013 will have 69 keelboats entered; eighteen are J/Teams spread across one-design J/105s, PHRF and Sprit PHRF classes-- 26% of the entire fleet! The race is a California downwind classic most years, the real question will be how much wind will the fleet enjoy at either end of the race-- the start off Santa Barbara and the finish off King Harbor can be notoriously light. What's crazy about the race is that once the fleet rounds Anacapa Island offshore (part of the Channel Islands), the wind can often be funneling down the west side of the island chain from 20 to 30 kts!
The thirty-six boat PHRF Class is comprised of mostly symmetric spinnaker boats, including the J/33 TIGGER sailed by Fred & Suzanne Cottrell and the Santa Barbarians on Larry Leveille's champion J/29 RUSH STREET. Joining them will be Shawn Ivie's J/30 FRICTION LOSS.
In the nineteen boat Sprit PHRF Class is a fleet of the fast-reaching, offshore J sailing machines. Leading the J/fleet should be Carolyn Parks's gorgeous red J/145 RADIO FLYER. Breathing down their necks will be the J/125 TIMESHAVER sailed by Viggo Torbenson and the J/133 FORGIVENESS skippered by Joe Simpkins. Not far behind may be the J/111 JATO sailed by the team of Bill Webster and Mike Moorhead. One of the fast J/120s sailing is Gary Winton's SHENANIGANS and they will be accompanied by three J/109s- SHADOWFAX (Chris Mewes), PERSISTENCE (Bryce Benjamin) & LINSTAR (Len Bose). Also participating is Dan McGanty's J/105 AQUABELLA, Tom Cullen's new J/97 CHISPA and Brian Kerr's J/92 DOUBLE DOWN. The J/105 One-Design class start has three boats participating, including ARMIDA (Tom Bollay), TWELVE BAR BLUES (Chuck Spear) and David Gorney. For more Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race sailing information
J/30 North Americans Preview(Barrington, RI)- The J/30 Class Association, Barrington Yacht Club, and J/30 Southern New England District (Fleet 13) are looking forward to host a near record fleet of twenty-three J/30s for the 2013 J/30 North American Championship July 25th-28th.
Narragansett Bay provides challenging race conditions and historic Barrington, Rhode Island is a wonderful and fun summer vacation destination for those J/30 sailing teams that are attending. There really is nothing quite like Narragansett Bay and the greater Newport-Providence area in the summertime. J/30 sailors will be able to enjoy this experience and local flavor with planned events such as the New England Lobster Boil on Saturday.
Answering that call are many of the top J/30s that have been maintained and lovingly restored to "AAA" bristol condition. With many new owners participating along with a number of veterans, it will come down to whom can divine the nuances of upper Narragansett Bay and its currents to determine the overall champion. Familiar names like Bill Kneller's RHAPSODY, Chuck Stoddard's FALCON, Carl Sherter's FAT CITY, Randy Boyles's ROCKET J and Clare McMillan's WICKED that have been sailing in the Northeast and others will most assuredly enjoy a wonderful time sailing in Narragansett Bay. For more J/30 North Americans sailing information
Big J Fleet Sailing Youngstown Regatta(Youngstown, NY)- It what may be the 40th, and last, Youngstown Level Regatta hosted by the Youngstown YC, sailors in the northeast have showed up 180 boats strong to celebrate a wonderful four decades of summer sailing tradition at the western end of Lake Ontario.
The J/70 class debut is making a huge splash with sixteen teams showing up as the largest fleet in the event. Notable New York locals sailing are Tim Finkle on JUNIOR, Marty McKenna on USA 168, Don Finkle on SEAWEED and Kris Werner sailing SUPERFECTA. Visiting sailors that could give them lots of headaches will be past J/80 World Champion Kerry Klingler sailing MENACE; Morgan Paxhia sailing PENNY PINCHER from Newport, RI; J/24 champion sailor Marc Pincus sailing PIPISTRELLO from Miami, FL; Ed Furry from Culver, IN sailing SAIL22 FALE; Martin Kullman skippering TOUCH 2 PLAY from St Petersburg, FL; Andy Papierz sailing DYANMO from Port Credit, ONT, Canada; and Brandon Flack from Stonington, CT driving TORQEEDO.
The J/24 one-design class has three boats sailing with a notable class leader diving into their midst-- Travis Odenbach's famous HONEY BADGER! Watch out, the badger is hungry for a win!
In handicap offshore racing world, there are IRC and PHRF classes. PHRF 1 class has the appearance of a 35 ft J class with a number of J/109s, J/111 and J/35s all participating. Bob Hesse's J/111 LAKE EFFECT should lead the fleet around the track, being chased by J/109s like Bob Eckersley's BLUE STREAK, Denys Jones' CARPE VENTUS, Murray Gainer's LIVELY and Ed Werner's MOCCASIN. Also giving them a run for the money will be J/35s like Andrew Kooiman's LOYALIST, Mark DePaul's REMARKABLE, Doug Mitchell's SASSAFRAS and Ken Bruce's ZONE.
Sailing PHRF 2 is the J/105 ALI-KAT skippered by Ed Berkhout and the J/100 SQUIRMY led by Joe O'Brien. PHRF 3 sees the appearance of two J/29s, including Mark Bowman's UNTAMED and Alex Miller's PAGAN. PHRF 4 has the classic J/30 CRUSADER being sailed by Dan Mather as well as Fred White's J/34 SOUND WAVE mixing it up in the fleet. PHRF 6 has the lone J/22 MO'MONEY being sailed by Aaron Snyder from Niagara Falls. PHRF Cruising 1 has Doug Clarke's J/35c ROGUE WAVE sailing in their class in what many might perceive as "a wolf in sheep's clothing" sailing amongst them! Finally, IRC 3 class has two J/27s including Mike Seitz's NORTHERN SEITZ and Andre Beese's MESSING ABOUT. For more Youngstown Level Regatta sailing information
J/70 New England's/ Marblehead NOOD Preview(Marblehead, MA)- This year's Sperry Topsider Marblehead NOOD regatta will also be featuring the inaugural J/70 New England Championship, hosted by the famous trio of yacht clubs in the harbor- Eastern YC, Boston YC and Corinthian YC. In addition to the J/70 class there will be fleets of J/105s and J/24s participating. Of the 150+ sailboats participating, by far the largest brand represented are J's with 42 boats (28% of the fleet) sailing in the waters off Marblehead. The wind forecast for Friday looks a bit "iffy" as a large Low pressure system offshore will be pumping Northeasterly winds into the harbor all day, with steadily increasing winds forecast to hit 20-30 kts by late evening Friday. The scene inside the harbor may be "touch & go" with huge waves rolling into the docks, making launch and recovery a bit delicate, one might say!
A fair number of recent J/70 regatta winners will be participating amongst the fleet of seventeen J/70s. They include the winners of St Pete NOOD, Charleston, Annapolis NOOD, Bacardi Newport, Cal Race Week and Long Beach Race Week-- Joel Ronning on CATAPULT and Bennet Greenwald on PERSEVERANCE! Tough hombres these guys are! Several locals will be quite competitive in their home waters, including Etchells 22 World Champion Jud Smith sailing with his wife Cindy, Dave Franzel on SPRING, Tyler Doyle and Ted Johnson on VITAMIN J. Notably, two women skipper/owners will be sailing, including Newporter Suzy Leech on JUNKANOO and Nancy Glover on WINTER WIND from Marblehead. Finally, the "long distance" award may have already been won by the German team on ROSAROTER PINGUIN led by Juergen Waldheim from Berlin!
As the largest J/class, the eighteen J/105s will have several local and visiting teams that sailed well in last year's NOOD as well as in the J/105 North Americans held at Eastern YC in the past. Amongst the Boston crowd that could be factors in the event include the entire top eight teams from last year's Marblehead NOOD! Those teams include past NOOD regatta winner Charlie Garrard on MERLIN, Matt Pike's GOT QI, Ric Dexter's CIRCE's CUP, Peter & Doug Morgan's STEELAWAY III, the BLOWN AWAY trio (Jon Samel, Mike Royer, Bob Mann), Fred deNapoli's ALLEGRO SIMPATICA, and Mark & Jolene Masur's TWO FEATHERS from Ft Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX! Watch for significantly different results this year as the weather forecast may upset this pecking order!
Last year's J/24 class winner, Jubilee YC's John Denman on AIRODOODLE, will again be back hoping to repeat their win in the seven boat J/24 class. Another past top five finisher that will be sailing is Mike Taber's XINGU form Boston YC. For more J/70 New England's & Marblehead NOOD sailing information
J/Sailing NewsThe Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The end of July sees summer in full bloom on the sailing schedule in Europe and the Americas. With all of Europe and most of America on vacation, it's no wonder the events scheduled in late July/ August have often have the greatest attendance. And, the 2013 version seems to have a number of heat waves and rather sluggish fronts moving along that have produced riveting outcomes-- the "shock & awe" of watching water particles, dust and bugs slowly move by the leeward rail as crews stare down into the abyss below the surface.On the European scene, recent events have seen good racing for those who finished and for those who didn't-- the pain of having to get home without having actually finished. While the recent RORC IRC Nationals off Portsmouth, England produced great racing on the first two days, it too was not immune to the vagaries of weather-- but what was HOT were the outcomes produced by a J/35, J/97 and J/92s! The following weekend, the RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo was a victim of the hot, wobbly Atlantic high and, again, some J/Teams (a J/122 and J/109) persevered and managed podium finishes despite record number of drop-outs. Meanwhile, over in Travemunde Week held in Travemunde, Germany, the J/70's sailing their Bundesliga didn't mind the warm, clear weather as Travemunde's beautiful bay produces a gorgeous sea-breeze of 10-15 kts from the ENE each day!
Hopping across the Great Pond, Edgartown YC off Cape Cod recently hosted their Edgartown Race Weekend that includes their famous Round Island- a 55nm affair that is highly popular. A number of J/Teams like a J/46, J/120, J/111, J/105, J/109 and J/42 all had silverware engraved with their names on them! Just northeast in Maine, the Rockland-Castine Race Weekend saw a J/105 enjoy have a lot of fun with the fleet. Down in the southern Chesapeake, Fishing Bay YC hosted their version of the Leukemia Cup for PHRF handicap (with a a J/35 and J/105 sailing) while raising a lot of money for a good cause. Out in the Great Lakes, the Bayview Mackinac Race was fortunate to have a fairly fast, easy race with J/Teams dominating a number of classes and taking home some silverware, including a J/29, J/35, J/105, J/42, J/111, J/120s, J/33, J/44 and J/145-- an amazing performance for any brand! Out West, lots was happening. The Transpac Race concluded, one of the slower on record, with J/125s again showing they can fly offshore. The "adult summer camp", a.k.a. Whidbey Island Race Week, was a fun affair with sun and wind! How shocking for the northwest! WIRW had a strong J/105 class and a number of J's placed top five in their respective PHRF divisions. In San Francisco Bay, while the AC72 catamarans were flying around out-of-control tossing their sails into the waters, the J/105s sailed an awesome Sausalito Invitational with winds up to 50 kts! Cool stuff, eh? Finally, down in the beautiful California Riviera known as Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara YC again hosted a fun Fiesta Cup Regatta with great sailing and excellent social activities in the evenings.
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:
Jul 25-28- J/30 North Americans- Barrington, RIJul 26-28- J/70 New Englands/ NOOD- Marblehead, MA
Jul 27-28- Youngstown Level Regatta (70, 24)- Youngstown, NY
Aug 3-10- Cowes Race Week (70, 80, 109, 111)- Cowes, England
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 10-11- J/70 Great Lakes- Buffalo YC- Buffalo, NY
Aug 14-18- J/111 North Americans- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Aug 22-30- J/24 Worlds- Howth (Dublin), Ireland
Sep 9-14- J/70 EuroCup Regatta- Lago di Garda, Italy
Sep 26-28- J/70 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
Sep 26-29- Rolex Big Boat Series (70, 105, 120)- St Francis YC- San Francisco, CA
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/Teams Dominate Bayview Mackinac RaceJ/120s Top Cove Island Race, J/29 Doublehanded Champ
(Port Huron, MI)- The Bayview Mackinac Race, hosted by Bayview YC, had a strong field of 239 boats that sailed in Doublehanded, PHRF and ORR handicap divisions. The fleet was split between the two courses on offer to the sailors, with a small fleet of boats sailing the longer "Cove Island course" (which takes teams up onto the Canadian side of Lake Huron up north near a buoy to the entrance of the North Channel in Ontario, then head nearly due WNW to Mackinac Island for the finish) and the balance of boats sailed the so-called "Shore Course" (a direct shot, mostly up the eastern Michigan shoreline directly to Mackinac). The popularity of the Shore Course has risen dramatically in recent years at it's primarily a reaching course, so teams get to Mackinac Island faster and happier (for the most part!). The Cove Island course takes teams due north and often when turning left to head for the island, it turns into a fairly rough beat to windward (not good for Mom and the kids).
This year's race was a relatively fast one with teams starting in good breeze on Saturday and many finishing late Sunday and early Monday morning. Taking the overall crown in the Division I Cove Island Course were two J/120s, Tom Lewin's SLEDGE HAMMER in 1st followed by classmate Bill Bresser in FLYIN IRISH in second, both finishing just after 3am Monday morning. The third J/120, Dennis Dettmer's PERVERSION took 9th overall. Sneaking in between these offshore cruiser-racers was the J/111 KASHMIR sailed by Tom Roop, taking 7th overall. J/120s as a whole did well in this race, taking seven of the top 17 places overall. Add in the top J/111's and results show J/Teams took nine of the top 20 places (not bad, to have nearly 50% of the top 20!).Looking at the Shore Course overall, the J classics sailed well with two J/35s finishing 6th (MR BILL's WILD RIDE) and 8th (MAJOR DETAIL), the J/145 VORTICES in 7th and the J/44 SAGITTA taking 10th-- like their Cove Island colleagues, also a great showing for J/Teams taking 4 of the top 10 overall.
In the Doublehanded Division on the Shore Course, the J/29 PATRIOT skippered by Lyndon Lattie took first overall followed by the J/111 NO SURPRISE sailed by Dave Irish in third place. A fantastic performance for both boats.Sailing Cruising A Division on the Shore Course was the J/42 DOS MAS sailed by Gary Gonzalez, taking both 3rd in class as well as 3rd overall! Yet another feather in the cap for this cruising offshore classic!
The highly competitive fleet of eight Great Lakes J/120s proved beyond any reasonable doubt they know this Bayview Mac race quite well! Behind the top three boats (SLEDGE HAMMER, FLYIN IRISH, PERVERSION) the balance of the class top five included Bob Kirkman's HOT TICKET in 4th and the team of Ed Vermet and John Hughes's NAUTI BOYS in 5th. Good show for this mostly Detroit, Michigan crowd-- the exception, of course, going to "long distance award" travelers SLEDGE HAMMER from Buffalo, New York!The J/105's saw a "two-peat" take place in their midst, with past race winner PTERODACTYL skippered by Mary Symonds finishing late Sunday night to win by only two minutes! Chasing them hard the entire race was GOOD LOOKIN sailed by Dean and Lana Walsh. Just seven minutes back from them in third position was SNAKE OIL skippered by Don Harthorn. The rest of the top five include WINDSHADOW sailed by Jim Murphy in 4th and RAMPAGE led by Matt Haglund in 5th. Amazingly, the J/105s must have had the "best performing boat in class" award, as the spread for the top five was only 22 minutes!! And, for the entire class, just 45 minutes! Fun, close racing for all.
The J/35's in the Great Lakes had nine very competitive teams sailing in the Level 35 Class and without question, many of them had the potential to win class as well as overall in the Shore Course race. In the end, the J/35s swept the top four positions, with past Bayview-Mac champion MR BILL's WILD RIDE sailed by Bill Wildner taking the crown again! Second was MAJOR DETAIL skippered by Bill Vogan just eight minutes behind. Third was TIME MACHINE sailed by Robert Gordenker and fourth was FALCON sailed by the trio of Bayer/ Bayer/ Barbes.
The Cove Island course PHRF C class saw the two J/111s simply dominate their competitors. Leading the fleet home was past Chicago-Mac winner KASHMIR sailed by Tom Roop, winning by over 22 minutes corrected. Second home was Tim Clayson's UNPLUGGED, 41 minutes clear of the boat that took third!The Shore Course PHRF D class had a few offshore greyhounds in the crowd. Sailing well to take 2nd position was Chris Saxton's J/145 VORTICES, showing again that their excellent sailing in the Chicago-Mac Race two weeks earlier was no fluke-- a solid offshore team they are!
The Shore Course PHRF E class saw the J/44 SAGITTA sailed by 
past commodores Jon Somes and Larry Oswald take a well-deserved 2nd overall, finishing as first boat in class on elapsed and second on corrected time.First in the Shore Course PHRF F Class was the J/33 SHENANIGAN sailed by the team of Dick & Dan Synowiec.
The Shore Course PHRF G class had the J/100 BLUE JAY skippered by John McVeety taking 10th in class and the J/92 KOHATSU sailed by John Stromberg was 12th. Sailing photo credits- Martin @ ELEMENTS For more Bayview Mackinac Island sailing information
J/97 & J/35 Win Class In RORC IRC Nationals(Portsmouth, England)- Yachts from Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom gathered in the Solent for the twelfth edition of the RORC IRC National Championship. Split into five IRC classes, the J/Teams were participating in three of them- IRC2, IRC3, and IRC4- and they all either won or had top five finishes!
The Royal Ocean Racing Club was determined to open the IRC National Championship in style and three excellent races on challenging windward-leeward courses was the result offshore of Portsmouth. With virtually no wind forecast for the central Solent, as well as tidal and depth issues, the Race Committee decided to take the fleet east in search of a decent breeze and the result was a magnificent day on the water.
In IRC Three James Chalmers' J/35 BENGAL MAGIC was fast out of the blocks and after three races led their class by one point. Reigning RORC IRC National Champion, the JPK 10.10, Strait Dealer, scored one race win today to claim third place. That was quite an auspicious start for the classic J/35 against the latest IRC machines off top European designer's drawing boards!The top performer of the day was Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE, scoring three straight wins in IRC Four. In light airs getting a good start and into clear air was the telling factor and INDULJENCE started every race with great anticipation. Richard Sparrow's J/92 WHO'S TO NO was second.
For the second day of sailing the RORC P.R.O chose Hayling Shoal as the combat zone. With five races now completed, battle lines were emerging for the three classes J's were racing. Day Two was another light winds affair with the 54 strong RORC fleet heading once again to the best sailing grounds available. With the wind speed barely reaching 10 knots, starts were important and getting into clear air gave a distinct advantage. However, some yachts were over-eager with several general recalls and a number of boats were called over the line on individual recalls. Only two of the scheduled three races were sailed, however the race management team were roundly applauded for getting in two good races with difficult weather conditions.
In IRC Two, Cornel Riklin's JITTERBUG had posted three finishes in the top five (3-4-4) but had an 8th in race 5 to hurt their chances for the podium. Her sistership, Andrew Christie's J/111 ICARUS, sailed like her namesake, not melting her wings as she streaked to the front of the fleet, posting a bullet to her scoreline.In IRC Three J/35 BENGAL MAGIC's fantastic championship efforts continued. James Chalmers and his crew from Weymouth scored a win and a second place today to lead the class and had the lowest net points score overall for the entire fleet. "We have put in a lot of preparation for this event," commented Chalmers, skipper of Bengal Magic, and we are proud to say we are a Weymouth boat and would love to take the silverware back to Dorset but we will have to see how things go tomorrow."
Nick and Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE had a perfect scoreline in the morning but the Hamble based crew were over the line at the start of the first race of the day and had to go back and the error cost them dearly. However, INDULJENCE were still leading the class, but discarding an eighth place meant one more slip up would see them move down the leaderboard. Tied on points for second place was Richard Sparrow's J/97 WHO'S TO NO. "My son Adam put in a lot of hard work getting Induljence race prepped and we have all been sailing through the cold winter months to enjoy this weekend's beautiful sunny weather," commented Nick Adams. "We are delighted to be doing so well and it really is all down to preparation but we still have one more day to go."For the final day of racing on Sunday, the crews faced a fairly grim forecast-- next to no or little wind was on the cards and it would be difficult for the RORC committee to get the ball rolling and have a "fair" race for all. As it happened, all classes got away off Gillkicker Point, but a substantial shift in the light breeze was too much to provide fair racing and the race was abandoned shortly after the start.
Consequently, Cornell Riklin's J/111 JITTERBUG snatched a fourth place in IRC2 having sailed a solid series in the middle three races. Chalmers J/35 BENGAL MAGIC took IRC honors. "It has come as a complete surprise to win our class!" commented an ecstatic Chalmers. "We have been racing against some well sailed boats but now and again everything clicks together and that has been the case this weekend. We are absolutely thrilled to be national champions. I have just spent a fortune with Spinlock, so I am delighted to hear that we will be receiving some prizes from them, as well!"National Champion in IRC Four was awarded to Nick and Adam Munday racing J/97 INDULJENCE who won three of the five races sailed. Richard Sparrow's J/92 WHO'S TO NO took second place and Charles Ivill's J/97 JIGGERY POKERY took fifth in class. Thanks for contribution from RORC/ Louay Habib. For more RORC IRC Nationals Championship sailing information
J/Teams Sail Light Transpac(Honolulu, Hawaii)- This year's Pacific offshore 2,225nm classic was not one of your typical Transpac's. While the finish line off Diamond Head Light and the red bell often produce spectacular photos with boats flying down waves in massive plumes of spray under spinnakers in 20-30 kts of breeze in 10-15 foot swells, the rest of the race leading up to this final blast was anything but fast. With the Pacific High meandering all over the place, expanding, retreating and moving around like a drunken sailor on high heels, the teams knew they were in for a tough race.
The race did start out on a high note, with the small boats leaving Monday on a gorgeous, sunny, windy day. All boats fetched Catalina Island on two tacks, left it to port and within hours many were sporting spinnakers flying towards Hawaii into stronger, more favorable tradewinds (at least that was the plan). The second starting group on Thursday had to contend with a freakish Low pressure system that produced ESE winds, with boats taking off on port tack from the starting line with little wind and spinnakers and gybing towards Catalina. What? Didn't Neptune get the memo? The brochure says the fleet is supposed to start on starboard, set chutes, blow down the Molokai Channel, get "lei'd" and celebrate arrival with a massive punchy umbrella drink! It was not to be. The second fleet starters faired badly in the overall standings as a result of this freak show. The third and final fleet of turbo's and sleds took off Saturday in more typical conditions-- sunny with a moderate breeze from the NNW, enabling most of the fleet to clear Catalina Island during daylight hours after a tack or two.
Starting in the second start, Tim Fuller's J/125 RESOLUTE still sailed a helluva race, taking 3rd in class and 19th overall. The J/125 WEST COAST WARRIOR sailed by Greg Constable was doing well until they hit something in the middle of the Pacific and gouged their keel badly, as well as affecting their rudder. Many boats reported damages or collisions with lots of trees and one boat even had to avoid a partially sunken refrigerator, all largely a result of the tsunami that hit Japan over a year ago. The J/105 CREATIVE team skippered by Ed Sanford from San Diego, class winners in last year's Pacific Cup, have had a rough go of it this year in the lighter airs.
Meanwhile, of note was that J/WORLD SAILING SCHOOL's 50 footer HULA GIRL again sailed the Transpac and managed a 6th in class. Led by Wayne Zittel and two coaches plus six J/WORLD students as crew, the old GIRL sailed admirably in the difficult conditions. Most of the Transpac participants have learned to sail on J/Boats and a few own J/Boats - at least 2 J/105s in this year's crew! Wayne and the J/WORLD coaches have countless days on the water teaching on J/80s, J/105s, J/120s, J/70s, J/111s and more! Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ UltimateSailing.com/ Transpac YC For more TransPac Race sailing information
J/105 Dominates Whidbey Island WeekJ/29 SLICK Takes PHRF 4
(Whidbey Island, WA)- Seventy-one teams competed in the 31st annual Whidbey Island Race Week in ten one design and PHRF fleets. Racing was conducted out of Oak Harbor, WA from July 15-19. Renowned for good, fun racing the full week’s vacation of seafood, whale watching, live music, Growler fly-bys and glorious sunsets is often referred to as an "adult summer camp". Amazingly, Orca killer whales welcomed the fleet on their first morning while the parade of boats exited the harbor!
Managing ten classes during the week, four of them one-design, the CYC-Seattle race committee ran two RC boats, multiple runabouts, and shot off 120 starts in 8-16 knot winds. In fact, all five days had great sailing conditions with plenty of sunshine and nice wind. 
In the J/105 Class, Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM won Boat of the Week with 11 straight bullets and solid crew work. Second in class was Jim Geros's LAST TANGO with a lot of seconds and third in class was Matt Gardner-Brown's DULCINEA.In the PHRF handicap classes, the top performer was the Mayfield/Nelson duo winning PHRF 4 counting all 1sts and 2nds in their scoreline, an impressive performance against well-sailed teams. The J/122 ANAM CARA sailed by Tom Kelly managed 4th in PHRF 1 class.
The four J/35s sailing PHRF 3 had a good series with Brian White's GRACE E taking third and Ernie Chatham's JABIRU taking 4th in class. Tom Kerr's J/33 CORVO started off the series slowly and wound up with a bunch of 2nds to take 4th in class.Sailing PHRF 7 was Bill McKinnon's J/80 SKYE ROCKET, posting consistent top five scores to take 4th in their class. Finally, the classic J/24 LUCKY JIM skippered by Jim McAlpine managed to win a few races and take fifth in PHRF 9 class. Sailing photo credits- Jan Pix For Whidbey Island Race Week sailing information
J/Teams Score In RORC Cowes-Dinard-St Malo Race(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- This year's Cowes-Dinard-St Malo race had over 170 yachts entered from six different nations will race across the English Channel to the famous walled port city of St Malo in Brittany, France. The 170-mile race pre-dates the Royal Ocean Racing Club by almost 20 years, with the overall winner taking the impressive gold plated King Edward VII Cup, presented by the British Monarch to the Club Nautique de la Rance at Dinard in 1906.The Cowes Dinard St Malo Race is the ninth race of the 13 race series for the RORC Season's Points Championship.
The race to St. Malo from Cowes is one of the oldest yacht races in the world and has always been a popular event with competitors racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club. The timing of the race coincides with the celebration of the storming of the Bastille in 1789, a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation. Bastille Day is one of the biggest celebrations throughout France and the fortress village of St Malo will be a hive of festivities and cultural celebrations culminating in an impressive firework display.
However, despite the fact that it can be a fast reaching race for many, this edition may very well go down into the history books as one of the toughest, slowest and lightest on record for a vast majority of the fleet. What appears to be a record number of DNF's were scored for the fleet, with approximately 25% of the fleet actually finishing the race while all others simply dropped out. "It was a race of super concentration," commented a competitor. "We were so pleased with the crew, we kedged near the start and in the Channel in very deep water but we were determined to finish, at no time did we even talk about giving up." Kedging to win?! Hmmm, didn't see where that was permissible under the ISAF regs, but then again, it is an old race with perhaps old rules!
Surviving were a number of J crews that managed to get across "La Manche" and grab some silverware, hopefully with bowls to throw in a few rum punches to calm the frazzled nerves! In IRC 2 Class, Francois Lognone's J/122 NUTMEG IV was second boat to cross the line and took third on corrected time. Meanwhile, her sistership sailed by Rob Craigie- the J/122 J-BELLINO- took fifth in IRC 2 Class and seventh in IRC Double class. Also sailing quite well in this challenging race was Robin Taunt's J/109 JIBE (skippered by Fergus Roper), scoring a second in IRC 3 Class. For more RORC Cowes-St Malo Race sailing information
J/70's Sail Travemunde WeekGreat Racing in Bundesliga Between German Clubs
(Travemunde, Germany)- The J/70 Bundesliga yacht club participants were looking forward to sailing on Travemunde's famous bay on the Baltic Sea; renown for the sea-breeze that often fills in the afternoon at 10-15 kts from the northeasterly quadrants- often oscillating from 40 to 75 degrees.
The second regatta of the Bundesliga took place in front of Lübeck, sailing in a "stadium-style" racing right along the Travemunde waterfront. The regatta organizers did a fabulous job of running thirty races for three flights over the two days for the eighteen teams that were competing. The weather Gods cooperated, offering up sunny days with nice sea-breezes every afternoon-- that's what the chamber of commerce promised, right!?
Demonstrating how close the competition was for all the teams, the top three was determined on a three-way tie-breaker with 25 pts total each. Winning the regatta with most firsts was the Bayerischer YC, second was the North German Regatta Association and third was YC Berlin Grunau.
"The leading clubs are all sailing on the same level. Everybody has won races and sometimes have also landed back in the field," says Walter Roth sailing with Yacht Club Berlin Grunau. And, he adds that "having short, fast consecutive races means bad ones are quickly forgotten! The BYC team with skipper Christian Schäfer and crew John Kaske, Philip Hibler and Walter Roth have been improving constantly. Their victory in Travemünde means we now move into second place in the overall Bundesliga series!"The YC Berlin Grunau continues to lead the Bundesliga series as a result of their third place finish in Travemunde. "For us, everything went as planned. We defended our championship lead and want to continue our good performance in the next regatta in Hamburg," said the team manager of YCBG.
The second place team in Travemünde, the North German Regatta Association, underlined their ambitions in the Bundesliga. "We're used to match race sailing, but we quickly adapt to these exciting new boats- the J/70s. This has definitely helped us on the first day of racing," explains Florian Weser. He generally match races with his teammates Klaas Höpcke and Niklas Meyerinck. "The NRV team is now ranked third in the Bundesliga series and we intend to get better!" added helmsman Johannes Polgar.
As one of the primary sponsors of the Bundesliga series sailed on J/70s, SAP's Sail-TV has been providing both locally live TV broadcasts as well as live internet broadcasts on-line. The popularity of the event not only throughout Germany, but across Europe, has been increasing dramatically! Watch for other versions of this J/70 circuit in other European countries next year! Sailing Photo credits- Lars Wehrmann For more J/70 Bundesliga sailing information For more Travemunde Woche sailing information
Ullman Wins Fiesta Cup J/70sGoebel's SANITY Takes J/105 Cliffhanger
(Santa Barbara, CA)- As they have for the past six years, Santa Barbara YC's gracious team of volunteers pulled out the red carpet for all crews sailing their famous Fiesta Cup Regatta. With PRO Brad Schaupeter coordinating on-water activities and Regatta Chair-woman Jane Watkins looking after the ever so popular on-shore festivities, the host's promise of a fun regatta with great sailing exceeded most sailors expectations.
The sailing was about as challenging as many of the locals have seen for the event. Saturday's forecast was for light winds from the S-SW. However, with the "June gloom" fog dissipating early, cool Pacific waters in the low 60s, and razor-clear blue skies, the classic WSW winds the area is renowned for settled in- starting in the 195-210 degree range early afternoon and swinging as far as 250-270 degrees in late afternoon. Perhaps critically for many, the amount of loose kelp and weed in the water was enough to create a lot of headaches for many crews trying to shed that speed-destroying stuff.
For the J/70 class, it was a weather/ wind scenario often seen by local champion Dave Ullman, who managed to rattle off a 1-2-3 to take the early lead. Just behind them was Craig Tallman's team on JAYA with a 5-1-2 and the duo of Tom Jenkins & Eric Kownacki on DFZ in third with a 4-5-1.
In the J/105s, the combination of starting issues, weed/kelp drama and basic boat-handling seemed to be afflicting many in the fleet. After the smoke cleared, leading the first day was local hero Larry & Becky Harteck sailing the famous REPEAT OFFENDER, followed by San Diego's Rick Goebel on SANITY in second and Steve Howell's BLINK! in third position overall.Sunday dawned with a completely different scenario for the fleets as there was the remnants of an offshore hurricane coming up the coast of Mexico that weakened dramatically into a mushy Low pressure system, but still spun high-level clouds and gradient winds into the region from the ESE quadrants. The winds were shifting erratically from 150 to 180 degrees with significant wind streaks ranging from 4 to 8 kts; plus toss in a few weed/ kelp "pods" that were sometimes impassable, meant only one thing for the J/70 and J/105 fleets-- chaos.
Despite the crazy conditions, Dave Ullmans' J/70 team hung on for the class win. And, previous day's second place team also managed to do the same- Jenkins/ Kownacki on DFZ- to secure second place with a strong 2-1 showing in the last two races. Just behind them was a different story with Kenny Kieding's SMOKE & MIRRORS sailing a brilliant first race to win and taking a 4th in the second race of the day to take the third position on the podium by just one point.
The drama for the lead in the J/105 class seemingly changed leg by leg as the enormous windshifts and streaks rolled through the fleet upwind and downwind. In the end, Rick Goebel's SANITY avoided too many pitfalls to snag 2nd in the last race to secure the Fiesta Cup Champion Trophy by two points. On the comeback trail was Alex Bernal & Tedd White's team on FREE ENTERPRISE, arising like a Phoenix from the ashes to grab two bullets in a row to take second overall. Having to overcome a number of obstacles on the last day was Harteck's REPEAT OFFENDER, holding on to take third for the regatta just one point in front of Howell's BLINK!As many have come to appreciate over the past few years, the Fiesta Party on Saturday night delivered on great music (good band!) and plenty of tasty Tex/Mex tidbits to satisfy the hungriest of sailors. Plus, having plenty of free beverages supplied by regatta sponsors Fess Parker's Winery and Vineyard and Cerveza Pacifico added to the overall camaraderie on the beach in front of the yacht club. Sailing photo credits- Jane Watkins/ Taggart Lee For more Santa Barbara YC Fiesta Cup sailing information
J/105 Wins Edgartown Week & Round IsJ/111 Takes Class in Round Island
(Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard) – After notching only eight knots of breeze on opening day (Thursday, July 18), Edgartown Yacht Club’s three-day Race Week cranked into high gear for a subsequent two days of action, loading up 25 teams with 20 knots of breeze for a second day of the event’s Big Boat Buoy Races and giving 62 teams an exhilarating run for their money in 25 knots plus during the 54.7 nautical mile ‘Round-the-Island Race, which was scored separately and comprised the final day of racing (Saturday, July 20).
Due to enormous amount of interest in extending the weekend of sailing, the Edgartown Yacht Club added an extra day to its 2013 Big Boat Buoy Races (BBBR). As a result, the event ran from Wednesday through Sunday (July 17-21) for IRC, PHRF, Double Handed, Cruising and Classic sailboats. After two days of the Big Boat Buoy Races on Thursday and Friday, Mount Gay also sponsored a Friday night “jump-up” celebration before the Round the Island Race on Saturday.
“As more big boats came to Edgartown for the Round the Island Race, the more their crews wanted to enjoy Martha’s Vineyard, and take home more silver,” said Mr Brooks. “The response to our efforts has been electric.“ First held in the summer of 1938, the Edgartown Yacht Club’s Round the Island Race was inspired by a similar race around the Isle of Wight that has been held in Cowes, England every year since 1931. Covering 54.7 miles, it passes over Nantucket Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and Vineyard Sound and by seven lighthouses as it circumnavigates, clockwise, the 100 square miles that make up Martha’s Vineyard.The distance around Martha’s Vineyard is just a few miles longer than around the Isle of Wight, with similar views of cliffs and headlands, villages and open water. Tidal currents and wind effects are important, and one team that was hoping to defend its title as master of both in the PHRF Spinnaker class was be Richard Egan’s (Osterville, Mass.) aboard his J/46 WINGS, which won its division overall last year.
“The Round-the-Island Race has been a tradition for my family since the ‘70s,” said Egan, whose father used to race and whose wife, two sons, two brothers (with their sons in tow) and a nephew will sail as part of his 11-14 person crew this year. “We like how it is located chronologically in the middle of the summer sailing schedule.” Nevertheless, says Egan, it was hard for the working professionals on his crew to get time off from their jobs for the Big Boat Buoy Races, so he decided to team up with his 19-year-old son, Richard Egan III, to take a shot at the first-ever competition for Double-Handed (skipper and one mate) crews. “We’ll try things for the first time, and hopefully in the end it won’t kill us. We haven’t done any double-handed sailing with the boat, but this make of boat has been used all over the place for it, so it clearly can be done.” Those were somewhat prophetic words, as they happened to manage quite well and take the Double-handed crown for the Big Boat Racing!Sailing the Round Island PHRF 2 Class was the J/120 APRES sailed by Stephen Besse from Vineyard Haven, taking a close second after a closely fought race with Doug Curtiss's J/111 WICKED 2.0. Here's the report from Mr Curtiss on their adventures racing around the island on their J/111:
"Not only did we secure a first place in PHRF A Class by three minutes corrected in this six hour race, but went toe to toe with the 1D35 for most of the day. Did I mention some great sailing with gust to 30, and top speed of 18.6 Knots for Wicked 2.0?
The day started well with a spinnaker start and run to the leeward mark of Cape Pogue. Making the turn South for the reach down the Muskeget Channel between Chappy and Nantucket, we were 2 boat lengths behind the 1D 35. Wind was a steady 18 to 22.
We separated for most of the reach, but rounding the Sea Buoy and turning to the West, the J/120 APRES came out of nowhere to take the lead. We were 3 boat lengths behind the 1D 35. Everyone settled onto the rail for the 2 1/2 hours to the can off Squibnocket. Slowly, ever so slowly, we reeled in the 1D 35. Heading into a Southwest ocean swell, with freshening breeze, Ted and then Gary ground em down. Everyone on the rail was hiking like we were in a buoy race with one last mile to the windward mark-- only this was 19 miles of ocean! No more than 3 boat lengths had separated us for the fetch down the whole South Shore. When we rounded the Squibby can, we were 20 feet ahead. We had gained approximately 120 feet in the last 19 miles against our sparring partner.
Both bore away to the Sea Buoy at Devil's Bridge, Gay Head. Wind is gusting to 25 with big swells on a reach. 1D 35 used their maneuverability and every trick in their bag to try and get by Wicked 2.0. Could not pass to windward, so set up on a wave and try to surf by to leeward-- no dice. Rounding the buoy at Gay Head, still less than a boat length separation. But we had shortened the course by 25 miles on the 1D 35.
And we needed every second of that handicap, as the 1D 35 took advantage of their downwind speed and took off on the spinnaker run down Vineyard Sound toward the finish line. Wind was now gusting over 30 with a steady 22 to 26 on the wind gauges. Both boats playing the adverse tides through Lucas Shoals and Middle Ground.....jibing into the beach to get out of the current and then jibing back out into Vineyard Sound. A great real estate tour of the north shore of Martha's Vineyard, but no one was looking in this breeze. The speedo topped out at 18.6 knots!!!
The J/120 fell back. The 1D35 pulled far ahead with their square top main and big kite. Then disaster struck the 1D35-- broaching badly with a blown chute, followed by two more knockdowns.
Rounding the can at West Choppy, we killed the kite for the reach to the finish. Past Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, we saw the most wind of the day, making 13 and 14 knots on a close reach with full main and number 3 jib.
Wicked 2.0 crossed the finish with corrected time about 3 min ahead of the J/120 and 7 min ahead of the 1D35 after more than 6 hours of memorable racing.
Special thanks to all those on the delivery home after the turn and burn at MVY. Also to all who helped provision and prep the boat. And a special nod to those hiking on the rail who got us by the 1D 35 on the South Side. Their driver told me at the awards ceremony, he wished his crew knew how to hike like the Wickeds."
Sailing in Class 3 PHRF in the BBBR and in Class 4 in the Round Island was the J/105 DARK'N'STORMY sailed by Ned Joyce from Buzzards Bay YC. “In the light air, after the first day, we were in last place overall,” said Ned Joyce (Cataumet, Mass.), who won PHRF B class in the Big Boat Buoy Races with his J105 Dark ‘n Stormy, “but in the heavy air we turned in three first-place finishes to win. That’s what we are more used to having on Buzzard’s Bay where we usually sail.” Joyce went on to win his class in the ‘Round-the-Island Race (Sophie dismasted in the ‘Round-the-Island Race but limped home safely), making him one of only two racers to claim victory in both of the weekend’s double-header events.
Rounding out the weekend's performance in the BBBR were a 2nd in Class 2 by the J/109 GUT FEELING sailed by Ted Herlihy and 4th in class by the J/120 APRES (Stephen Besse). As mentioned, there was a well-deserved first in class by Dick Egan's J/46 WINGS in the Double-handed class.
In the Round Island Race, Class 3 saw the J/44 BALLYHOO (Wesley McMichael) take third and the J/42 PANASEA (Kent Nicholas) take 4th. Behind DARK'N'STORMY in Class 4 were another J/105- LYRIC sailed by Pete Lebish in third. Sixth in class was Dick Egan's J/46 WINGS and seventh was the J/109 HAFA AIDA skippered by Eliot Shanabrook of Marblehead YC. Sailing a very nice race in Class 5 was the J/35c RIVA (Steve Dahill) taking a third overall. Finally, in Class 8 PHRF Double-handed was the J/42 STARLIGHT sailed by Jil Westcott. Sailing photo credits- Michael Berwind For more Edgartown YC Race Week and Round Island sailing information
ARBITRAGE Wins Sausalito J/105 Invite(Sausalito, CA)- This past weekend the San Francisco J/105 fleet was treated to its own race course on the Berkeley Circle courtesy of Sausalito YC. SYC has been running the event for J/105s-only for years between Sausalito, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. However, with all the America's Cup hoopla going on, SYC wisely moved the event to the Berkeley Circle to avoid having J/105s sliced in half by 50 kt 72-foot AC catamarans careening out of control.
On Saturday, the winds started at 15 kt, quickly grew to a consistent 30-32 kts, and even hit 50 kts after racing was over and folks were motoring home in their boats across San Francisco Bay! Scooter Simmons’ BLACKHAWK dominated the first day of racing with a 4th and two bullets, while Bruce Stone and the team on ARBITRAGE were just three points behind with a 2-4-3. Jeff Littfin's MOJO and Phil Laby's GODOT were tied for third a couple more points back, so with such a closely bunched crowd, the regatta was anyone’s to win going into Sunday.
As has often been the case with the SF J/105s, whatever happened on Saturday would have little bearing on the outcomes for Sunday to determine the final winners. ARBITRAGE was a bit eager early in the morning (perhaps due to the influence of Stone's custom-made roasted coffee beans) and was called over early in the first race. Nevertheless, Stone's team clawed their way back for a hard-earned second. In the last race, the ARBITRAGE team turned in another consistent race, finishing third, to claim the top spot on the podium despite no bullets. Littfin's MOJO took second and Laby's GODOT third. Past regatta winner RISK (Jason Woodley & Scott Whitney) was just off the pace in this event but managed a bullet in the last race to secure 4th, while early regatta leader Simmon's BLACKHAWK slid down to fifth place; much of that could be attributed to that fact they sailed a borrowed boat on Sunday after their own boat blew-up the jib roller due to Saturday's heavy winds.
According to Stone, “Steering was quite difficult both days, and big gains were made switching gears. Nicole Breault, our main trimmer and tactician, worked really hard to keep us moving from normal trim into footing mode to punch through the significant chop and get into the next shift. Since we cross sheet, she had the jib at hand and was able to work both main and jib all the way up the race course. We feel this made a huge difference in our performance.” Sailing Photo credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster. For more Sausalito YC J/105 Invite sailing information
J/105 Rockland-Castine Regatta Champion(Castine, ME)- Two great days of racing took place this past weekend at the 3rd Annual Rockland Castine Regatta hosted by Rockland Yacht Club. In all 32 boats made it to the line for the start on both days. There were two cruising classes, three racing classes, a shorthanded division, and a multihull division each sailing a 20 mile course, to and from, Rockland and Castine Harbors.
Day one was the sleigh ride to Castine with a 10 to 20 knot WSW breeze that was reasonably consistent throughout the race. KEEMAH, the J/105 owned by Don Logan, in racing class two was the second boat to finish. It was not the day for the big boats as they were never able to catch all the way up to most of the smaller boats. Day 2 would be another story completely.
Day two started off with a whimper and finished off with a bang. The weather intelligence provided the race committee with a forecast for some wind although it didn't look like it just after the starting sequence had begun. A nice 5 knot northerly a filled just outside Castine harbor and the race committee anxiously started the race on time. However, that wind proved to be a fluke and very light air commenced for the rest of the starting sequence. Luckily a nice 1 knot+ out-going current kept most of the boats moving towards the goal of Rockland harbor while the whole fleet waited for a southwesterly wind to fill for a great upwind leg back "home".
The wind did fill to about 10 to 15 knots and provided some large oscillations between 200 degrees and 250 degrees during the race. The boats that hit the shifts just right each time made huge gains, however, if you got caught on the wrong side it was hard to recover. The shifts only took place every 40 minutes or so, which created a wait and see, patience game. The out-going current meant that you didn't need to go to a shore but boats would go to each side of the course and create some major leverage of about 1 to 2 miles at times.
The larger boats were able to catch up with the fleet on day two much better and the first boat to finish was racing class 1 boat, J'AI TU, a J/35 owned by Gary Bennett and skippered by JB Turner. The J/105 KEEMAH won the overall by 1 minute and 35 seconds. Congratulations to KEEMAH and Don Logan's crew on a second consecutive Overall win of the Rockland Castine Regatta.
On Saturday a party of over 175 sailors took place a Dennet's Wharf restaurant. Which became really interesting when the power went out due to a small squall that went through Castine just after everyone had hit the docks and were cleaned up after racing. The Dennet's staff was great and kept everything on schedule cooking with head lamps in their kitchen and serving all the sailors on time. Just about the time dinner was over the power came back on and the band was able provide great music for dancing until the sailors couldn't take it any longer.
On Sunday a party under the tent of the Rockland green was a perfect end to a great weekend with a full BBQ with burgers, dogs, chicken and all the fixings and some great salads to top off the experience.
Rising Tide Beer was enjoyed each day with their "Spinnaker" and "Maine Island Trail Ale" brands providing some great refreshment to the crowds of thirsty sailors. For more Rockland Castine Regatta sailing information
J/Teams Support Leukemia Cup in ChesapeakeJ/24, J/70, J/105 and J/PHRF sailors Enjoy Southern Hospitality
(Fishing Bay, VA)- The Southern Chesapeake Leukemia Cup regatta, hosted by Fishing Bay Yacht Club and Stingray Harbor Yacht Club, was held July 13 & 14. One-design fleets of J/24s, J/70s and J/105s along with two J/109s in PHRF sailed the four race series over two days. In addition to good sailing the regatta raised more than $85,000 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
The fleet was blessed with somewhat remarkable conditions considering that the mid-Atlantic region had been baking in extremely hot, muggy conditions for the past few weeks. For Saturday's racing, the sailing was postponed due to thunderstorms rolling up the bay earlier in the day, but it soon turned out to be a fantastic day for sailing with the wind building from 10 kts to gusts over thirty kts under clear skies towards evening. Sunday's racing was equally challenging with light, but steady, breezes all day long.
Debuting in the regatta for the first time were the J/70s, with a competitive fleet of five boats. Taking the class honors was Ron Thompson with a leading tally of 1-2-1-1 for 5 pts. Behind them was a battle for the podium with three boats, all tied with six pts each after the first day- the two Vortex Racing boats (Vortex and GetMyBoat.com) and Drake Johnstone's CAT'S PAJAMAS. In the end, VORTEX took second with a 3-3-2-2 for 10 pts and GetMyBoat.com took third with a 2-5-3-3 tally for 13 pts.
The J/24 saw five boats participating. Showing the fleet their transom most of the time was Neil Ford & Liz Biondi's ROCKET J with a scorching hot scoreline of 1-1-2-1 for 5 pts. Taking second after a slow start was Scott Collins on KOBAYASHI MARU with a 5-4-1-2 tally for 12 pts. They narrowly edged out Alan Bomar, who sailed ROUNDABOUT to a 2-2-5-4 score for 13 pts.
In PHRF A, the J/105s and J/109s competed as a fleet. Taking first in class was Craig Wright's J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT with a dominant 1-1-1-2 record for 5 pts. Second was the other J/109 DOUBLE EAGLE sailed by Sam Mitchener with a equally consistent 2-2-2-3 scores for 9 pts. Scored as a Sub-division were the J/105s, with David Clark's CORRYVRECKAN taking top honors. For more Fishing Bay YC Leukemia Cup sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* The J/125 TIMESHAVER takes the Dana Point Offshore series- over the 4th of July weekend, the J-125 TIMESHAVER skippered and helmed by Viggo Torbensen with Keith Magnussen as tactician won the Dana Point series A class and topped the entire fleet for the perpetual trophy as well. Here's the report from Viggo himself-"The eight race regatta that was comprised of four random leg and four windward-leewards, were not exactly the strength of the J/125. To make matters more difficult, we were the biggest boat on the course by a long shot, lots of boat handling on short courses. Sporting a wardrobe of Ullman sails custom tailored by "KMag", TIMESHAVER managed to keep the competition behind to secure the name of yet another J/Boat to be engraved into the silver! Stay cool my friends. Hope to see you around the race track again soon!" Sail fast, Viggo. Editor's note- Viggo and team are hoping to crush the competition in the fast downwind race from Santa Barbara to King's Harbor (LA) this weekend.
* Attention all J/70 sailors! J/World Annapolis is anxiously awaiting the delivery of their J/70 (USA 357) this August and are planning events for the boat in 2013 and 2014. There is a unique opportunity for new and potential J/70 buyers to “try before they buy” while also getting top level racing and boat-handling coaching as well as experiencing the first J/70 North American Championship this September.Beginning Monday, September 23, 2013 J/World Annapolis will be conducting a three day training clinic followed by three days of racing in the 2013 J/70 North American Championship. This six day racing event is patterned after our “super-week” training program and includes on-board coaching for all six days, three days of pre-event multi-boat training, daily video and still image debriefing and nightly discussions with J/70 sailmakers and local racing experts.
This program is perfect for new and prospective J/70 owners for several reasons. First and foremost, owners quickly maximize their sailing experience by working through the boat-handling gremlins that can plague self taught teams.
Second, the methodology is easily transferred to crews when clients return to their teams - making the owner's programs stronger. J/World believes well-rounded racing education requires cross-training, and our program will put each client into each of the roles onboard. During practice and the regatta clients will rotate through each of the roles, gaining valuable experience in every position and valuable knowledge that will help them train their own crews.
Finally, because this will be an “owner crewed” event J/World are creating relationships that make racing fun and create important peer-to-peer networks that strengthen the class.
J/World Annapolis have nearly two decades of experience conducting this style of training program in the J/80 and look forward to bringing their experience and training program to the J/70 class. In addition to the J/70 North Americans they will be conducting this style of program at Key West Race Week, St Petersburg NOOD, Miami Race Week, Charleston Race Week and Annapolis NOODs.
The J/70 North American six day regatta program is $2,495 per person and includes three days of training, three days of racing, event registration, crew gear and lunch each day. It is exclusive of travel and lodging.
Please contact them if you have an interest in learning how to sail your J/70 faster and better! Contact is Kristen Berry at ph# 410-280-2040 (Office) or 410-599-3542 (Cell) or email- kristen@jworldannapolis.com
* J/70s are sailing in areas notorious for having weed & kelp issues. Lightweight, quick-to-deploy carbon sticks are often a great answer to the difficult issue of getting weed/kelp off the bottom of the rudder and the keel where the "weed whacker" doesn't reach. For places like New England, California and lakes like Minnetonka, SD Boatworks has come up with an elegant solution- the J/70 carbon fiber kelp/ weed stick. Here's a Youtube video of how it works on the rudder and when you lie down on your stomach next to the shrouds, you can use this to also get rid of weed on the bottom of your keel!Please see: http://youtu.be/VG9daQGfQc0
If you'd like to get one, please contact Julie Servais at SD Boatworks- ph# 619-592-8682 (office) or 619-632-2444 (cell) or julie@sdboatworks.com. Their website is http://www.SDBoatworks.com
* 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.
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Fiesta Cup Regatta Preview
The J/111 class again repeated their stellar overall division performance as a result of their constant real-time one-design positioning versus one another; made especially more frenetic due to the extremely fast-reaching capabilities of J/111's using Code Zero's. This year's winner, however, while no "newbies" to the actual Mac Race, were first year J/111 owners. Dick Hobbs's team on HOBGOBLIN from Milwaukee, WI showed their fellow classmates what it takes to win a wild and woolly, hit the corners "run for the roses" to that lovely paradise that smells of horse manure, chocolate fudge and fragrant pine forests and ringed with crystal-clear azure blue waters. Winning by only 15 minute over NO SURPRISE sailed by Dave Irish from Harbor Springs, MI, the "goblin gang" sailed smartly, making less mistakes than everyone else to take the crown for the J/111 class. Bill Smith's WOOTON from Chicago had been winning for over half the race but the changing of the guard took place in the classic Manitou Passage "waltz"-- where everything changes as it can and will! As a result, they took third in class. Fourth was Mac "newbies" (or virgins) Henry Brauer and crew on FLEETWING from Marblehead, MA. Finally, fifth was taken by Mac veteran and wily Mac goat Len Siegal on the renowned LUCKY DUBIE from Chicago.
The IRC 1 again proved to be a dual between two J/Teams and two Farr teams. Winning class was John McLeod's J/133 HOT WATER and getting the short-end of the stick in fourth place was the J/111 SURVENANT (skippered by a Quebec quartet of Marcel Cote, P Bernier, C Boulet, N Cote and Y Dion).
