Kiel Week J/70 Announcement(Kiel, Germany)- The first J/70 German Open Championship will be held in conjunction with the famous Kieler Woche event, one of the world’s largest one-design regattas. Running from the 20th to 28th of June, it’s a tremendous opportunity to enjoy not only great sailing but also fantastic shoreside festivities that include rock concerts, symphonies, a zillion different “craft beers” and a smorgasbord of delicious foods.
So far, over eighteen entries have registered with many teams representing the J/70 fleets in Berlin and also Lake Constance. In addition, there are boats from The Netherlands and from Russia. Top names in the European class include Claas Lehmann, Jurgen Waldheim, Thomas Studer, Christian Soyka, and Wouter Kollmann.
Mark you calendars now and join the fun in Kiel! It’s a memorable regatta and an opportunity to make new friends from across Europe sailing J/70s! For any questions, please be sure to contact Sven Jürgensen at email- sven@mittelmannswerft.de or mobile- +49(0)171/683 5555. For more Kieler Woche sailing information
J/80 Copa de Espana Preview(Murcia, Spain)- The waters off Murcia will play host to the Copa de Espana from May 21st to 24th. Eighteen boats from the regions of Andalusia, the Balearics, Catalonia, Galicia, Murcia and Valencia have registered in what promises to be a real battle for Spanish sailing supremacy.
With three races scheduled per day, in three days of competition, the teams will be busy and hope to have the fitness and mental sharpness to play the game against the very best from across Spain.
Among the big favorites are BRIBON-MOVISTAR sailed by Marc de Antonio and Sofia Bertrand (RCN Barcelona RCN and RCN Sanxenxo), who just two weeks ago won the trophy at Palmavela sailed in Palma de Mallorca. In addition, the Gold Medallist in Barcelona 1992 and J/80 World Champion in 2012, Jose Maria Van der Ploeg will be skippering NAUTICA WATCHES. The trio of favorites closes with a local Murcia team and 2014 European Champion, Carlos Martinez aboard AKEWUELE.
Besides those three teams, one cannot cast aside Mallorcan sailor Javier Chacártegui sailing HM HOTELS, they also managed to get on the podium at PalmaVela. Nor can anyone discount two other teams that have podium potential, Javier Aguado’s PEUGEOT from the powerful Santander fleet (home of two J/80 World Champions) and CN BEVELLE helmed by Pablo Villar, another Murcian local team that knows the waters quite well. For more Copa de Espana sailing information
GP du Crouesty PreviewJ/70 & J/24 French Nationals!
(Crouesty de Arzon, France)- For the upcoming holiday weekend in France, the Yacht Club du Crouesty Arzon will be hosting their famous annual regatta- the Grand Prix du Crouesty. The event is held for three days out of Port Navalo with racing taking place on Bay de Morbihan. From May 22nd to 24th, YCCA expects over 250 boats to participate in a multitude of one-design classes. What makes it a fun event is that it is also very family oriented- this year’s theme is “Destination Cuba” and will feature Caribbean Pirates and other entertaining programs.
The French J/24 Class is hosting their French Nationals as part of GP Crouesty. It’s an especially
important event for this class since it will serve as precursor to J/24 European Championship being hosted from the 6th to 12th of June. In addition, the J/70s in France are hosting their first Nationals as well. The turnout expects to see some of the best teams in France participating since the J/70 Worlds in La Rochelle are just over a month away. Finally, the GP Crouesty also serves as the fourth act of the French J/80 Coupe de France series. Watch their entertaining promo sailing video here. For more Grand Prix du Crouesty France sailing information
J/24 US Nationals Preview(San Francisco, CA)- While last weekends regatta at San Francisco YC’s Open Keelboat Regatta served as a good warm-up and training event for some crews, the real deal is scheduled for Friday, May 22nd through Sunday, May 24th, 2015. The USA J/24 Nationals has over two-dozen boats registered ready to roll on the infamous Berkeley Circle.
The venerable Berkeley Yacht Club is hosting the event and they promise big breeze! Not just a little bit, but a whole’lotta breeze-on baby!! BYC’s support of J/24 One-Design racing started in 2008 as the “TMC J/24 Invitational Regatta” and they’re looking forward to another year, for 2015 will be the eighth (8) consecutive year, of “off the charts” San Francisco Bay competitive sailing, “paella gorging” (see photos here), adult beverage consumption and hilarious fun and silliness!
Based on prior reputations (some good, some questionable), the battle for the pickle dishes is going to be a true “mano a mano” battle between some seriously experienced J/24 teams. The locals that hope to hold their own against the “foreigners” includes boats like Mike Whitfield’s TMC RACING, Val Lulevich’s SHUT UP & DRIVE, Jasper Van Vliet’s EVIL OCTOPUS, Darren Cumming’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR and Paul Ravenswaay’s FERAL ROOSTER. Coming from beyond the fog enshrouded Alcatraz is a bevy of talent that may appear mind-boggling to some J/24 sailors. Leading that crowd must be last weekend’s winner, former J/24 North American Champion Pat Toole from Santa Barbara, CA guiding the mighty 3 BIG DOGS. Another NA Champ in the hunt will be Chris Snow’s BOGUS from San Diego, CA. The winner of the last J/24 Southwest Championship event in Dallas, Natalie Penner’s GIGGLES from Austin, TX will be in the hunt. Japanese J/24 National Champion Tokuma Takesue will be sailing GEKKO. Then, there’s the J/24 mafia from Seattle’s Pacific Northwest J/24 fleet. Oh dear, the locals may be in for some trouble with these gangsters, SIX boats X 5 people X 3 hangers-on each means nearly 50 people from the Seattle area! It’s an invasion of the salmon-people! Mark Laura’s BABA LOUIE and Scott Milne’s TREMENDOUS SLOUCH might be considered fleet leaders anywhere, plus they’re quite familiar with the insanities of the Berkeley Circle. Should be fun sailing for all with even better social festivities ashore. For more J/24 US Nationals sailing information
FIGAWI Race Preview(Falmouth, MA)- For 44 years now, Nantucket’s summer season has been kicked off with a racing event for sailors of all levels of skill. They even have high school competitors that will be awarded for their participation in the event. The Figawi Race originated back in 1972 with a group of four friends competing to see who could make it from Baxter’s Boathouse in Hyannis to Nantucket Island before everyone else. It was just a friendly competition that saw crews comprised of friends and wives crossing the Nantucket Sound for fun. Over the years it has since grown into an iconic Cape Cod event that brings in more than 200 sailboats and powerboats with thousands of people that are either competing or just there to watch.
As with any friendly competition, the Figawi Race needs a proper party to welcome everyone to the festivities: The Kickoff Party at Hyannis Yacht Club. Luckily, this shindig isn’t just for the competing sailors; rather, everyone is invited to experience the building excitement for the race the following day. Starting at 3pm, the party will go until 8pm with the early ending time ensuring that the competitors will be in tip top shape for the race. There will be a cash bar and live musical entertainment will be provided by HennesseyThis year’s 44th Annual Figawi Race Weekend runs from May 23rd to 25th. 211 boats are registered with 14 J’s participating in what is by far the largest “pursuit-style” race on the American East Coast.
Saturday 1000 hrs is first boat off the line; the smallest and slowest rated PHRF boats. Then, the Memorial Day Weekend celebrations start with massive tent parties Saturday and Sunday nights and the prize-giving on Sunday afternoon for ninety-seven trophies!
Early Saturday morning, crews begin gathering. Skippers and boat owners prepare their boats, gather their crews, and head out to the start line. The first boat officially begins at 10 am off the Hyannis Port Jetty. But beginning around 8 am, the parade of sailboats head out of Lewis Bay, pass by Kalmus Beach, and gather off Hyannis Port. The boats start from 10 am until approximately noon, depending on their handicapped start time. Everyone hopes to be the first one to reach Nantucket.Depending on the various conditions, the theory of the Pursuit Race format is all competitors should reach the Nantucket MO(A) at around the same time. They finish at the entrance of Nantucket Harbor and parade into Nantucket Boat Basin. Standing on the beach at Brant Point Light is a great spot to watch all the action.
Saturday night Figawi hosts a Competitor Party under the Event Tent on New Whale Street. Sponsors that provide product for festivities include Mt. Gay Rum, Budweiser, Cisco Brewer of Nantucket, Coca Cola, Boisset Family Estates (wine), Samuel Adams, and Jim Beam. After the day of racing, it is a great place to come and see old friends and make new ones.
Sailing in the PHRF Non-spinnaker division is Brad Butman’s J/28 SHADOWFAX, Hayley Reifeiss’s J/24 BIIG SANDWICH and Bill Jones’ J/40 SMITTEN. Taking up the pursuit in PHRF Spinnaker division are five J/105s (Steve Widdis’ PRIMA team from Nantucket Community Sailing, the DARK’N’STORMY trio of Joyce/ Reservitz/ Wagner from Buzzards YC, Matt & Lisa Schmidt’s HARDTACK, Pete Lebish’s LYRIC and Ed Lobo’s WATERWOLF). Two J/122s will be chasing them hard, Jimmy Maseiro’s URSUS MARITIMUS and Dan Heun’s MOXIE. Several veterans of the race include the J/29 SEEFEST (Ira Perry), the J/46 WINGS (Richard Egan), the J/80 COOL J (Alex Krauss), the J/120 GLORY (David Follett) and the J/40 JAZZ (Kirk Brown). A newcomer to the race will be the new J/97 ADRENALINE sailed by Andrew Meincke from Stage Harbor, MA. For more Figawi Race sailing information
Calling all J/Boat sailors!Come sailing with us!
(Newport, RI)- We are inviting all J/Boat sailors worldwide to come sailing 'with us' as part of the Summer Sailstice global celebration of sailing. We want to show off the best of J/Boat sailing and you can help us do it by entering your sailing plans for this once-a-year event held annually on the weekend nearest the summer solstice. This year the June 20th weekend.
Everyone signed up and sailing is eligible to win a $100 gift certificate to the J/Boat store plus a one-week BVI charter from Sunsail and numerous other prizes. You can participate if you're racing Block Island Race Week, the Marion Bermuda Race, Cleveland Race week or cruising the Med or just out for an afternoon sail. Sign up, hoist your sails and celebrate J/Boat sailing.
Sign up at http://www.summersailstice.com. This allows you to post your sailing plans, publicize a fleet event, invite others or see what other sailors are doing in the area. Participants can host a cruising rendezvous, hold a race or sail however you like for the Sailstice holiday. There’s no better way to start the summer and the ideal way to connect with all J/Boat sailors around the world. Ideally, we'd love to have all 14,000 J/Boats in all four corners of the globe all sailing 'together' in this worldwide celebration of sailing!
All events can be posted on this map. Individuals can enter their sailing plans to show up here.
We're looking forward to sailing and celebrating 'with you' on Summer Sailstice 2015! Where will you be sailing your J/Boat for Summer Sailstice? Fair Winds, The Newport J/Team
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
Mid-April proved to be a very busy week for J sailors in Europe and North America. Newport was extremely busy hosting the stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race. The team at Sail Newport (with director Brad Read at the helm) did an amazing job hosting and running the onshore festivities and their army of volunteers made it fun and safe for all on the water watching the Inshore Race on Saturday and the glorious Sunday start/ send-off party. As part of the VOR experience, American war veterans were treated to special VIP races aboard the fleet of Sail Newport J/22s. Elsewhere around America, there was plenty of sailing taking place. Out East, the Cedar Point YC hosted their annual One-Design Regatta that included J/70s in the first weekend (next weekend is the “big boats”). Out West, there were events up and down the Pacific Coast. In the Pacific Northwest, Corinthian YC of Seattle hosted their first “POD Regatta”, a one-design event that included J/80s and J/105s on Puget Sound. Simultaneously on San Francisco Bay, the St Francis YC hosted the Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta for J/105s, J/111s and J/120s. Across the Bay to the east on the Berkeley Circle, the San Francisco YC hosted the J/24 Western Regionals and the J/70s in their Elite Keelboat Regatta.Over on the far side of the big pond, there was activity taking place from the British Isles to the Mediterranean and north into Germany and Scandinavia. In the Med, the J/70s were sailing their fourth act of the Alcatel OneTouch J/70 Italian National Championship in San Remo, Italy. Not far away in France, the J/80s and J/22s were sailing the Grand Prix Ecole Navale (GPEN) in Cameret, also the fourth event for the J/80 Coupe de France season series. Further north, the first two races in the Dutch Two-Handed Nationals took place as part of the Vuurschepen Race and the RORC North Sea Race- both events starting/ finishing from the two ports of Scheveningen (The Hague), The Netherlands and Harwich Port, England. The event is also part of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta that takes place all next week- with plenty of J’s sailing like J/105s, J/109s, J/111s, J/122s, J/133 and J/97s. In Great Britain, two events took place, one was the J/24 Spring Cup hosted by Parkstone YC off Poole and the other was the Vice Admiral’s Cup hosted by Cowes Corinthian YC for J/109s and J/111s on the Solent. Moving north, we find the first major German J/70 regatta of the season taking place in Berlin. The host was Potsdamer YC and the fleet sailed in the Wannsee Woche regatta- sailing conditions were simply spectacular. Finally, we find a J/111 and J/109 sailed the famous 120nm Skagen Race from Oslo, Norway across the Baltic Sea to Skagen, Denmark.
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:
May 12-25- Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta- Scheveningen, The NetherlandsMay 20-24- J/24 USA Nationals- Berkeley, CA
May 22-25- Grand Prix du Crouesty- Crouesty, France
May 22-24- J/80 Copa de Espana- Aguilas, Murcia, Spain
May 29-30- Susan Hood Trophy Race- Mississauga, Ontario
May 29-31- Southern Bay Race Week- Hampton, VA
May 30-31- Cal Race Week- Marina del Rey, CA
May 30- Jun 2- Italian J/24 Nationals- Cala Galera, Italy
Jun 3-6- J/80 Campeonato de Espana- Sotogrande, Spain
Jun 5- RORC de Guingand Bowl- Cowes, IOW, England
Jun 6-8- Cronulla J/24 Short Course Regatta- Sydney, Australia
Jun 6-13- J/24 Europeans- Arzon, France
Jun 11-13- J/Cup Regatta- Cowes, IOW, England
Jun 12-14- NYYC Annual Regatta- Newport, RI
Jun 12-14- Cleveland Race Week- Cleveland, OH
Jun 12-14- Chicago NOOD Regatta- Chicago, IL
Jun 12-14- Italian J/70 Alcatel OneTouch #3- Cervia, Italy
Jun 15-19- J/111 World Championship- Newport, RI
Jun 21-26- Block Island Race Week- Block Island, RI
Jun 21-26- J/109 North Americans- Block Island, RI
Jun 25-28- Kieler Woche- Kiel, Germany
Jun 26-Jul 5- Delta Week 2015- Grevelingen, The Netherlands
Jun 26-28- Long Beach Race Week- Long Beach, CA
Jun 27- JP Morgan Round Island Race- Cowes, IOW- England
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
J/111 BLUR Crushes Skagen Offshore Race(Skagen, Denmark)- The Skagen Race is the offshore season premiere in Scandinavia. A quick 120nm overnight dash from Norway to Denmark over a cold, and sometimes rough, Skagerrak sea. But it’s usually worth it and the reward is the famous weekend party in the little Danish town of Skagen. Sun, cold Danish beer and late night boat parties attract crowds from far away!
Peter Gustafsson and his crew on board J/111 Blur³ are preparing for the Fastnet Race in August and decided to get the most out of the race. They started with a 140nm delivery to Norway in full-on “race mode”; 26-30 knots of wind and massive seas were a decent shake-out for both the boat and the crew.
”It was unbelievably wet. Just before dark we hit some monster waves that just flushed the crew along the deck and down in the cockpit. Starting a boat delivery with a headcount felt a little strange. But the boat stayed dry, and we managed to get into our routines,” explained Peter.As they got to Norway the wind dropped, and Oslo Fjord was picture perfect. Race registration, some lunch and the team was ready to go again.
In a light northerly breeze, the J/111 really showed some good pace; easily leading it’s start and overtaking earlier starts. Later that night, it was all about timing a big wind shift from NW to NNE and working hard to keep the speed up.
”We worked through the inventory, rotating A2, A3 and a Code 0. We timed the shift ok and had a comfortable lead at the mark at Väderöarna,” commented Peter.
In the morning the fleet left the Swedish coast for the final sprint to Denmark, BLUR kept a loose cover on the competition (so much easier when everyone has AIS). Working the shift they extended the lead to a huge, mind-numbing, ego-crushing 33 minutes margin for an epic class win.”We won the class big with the J/109 in 2010. To be able to come back for a repeat performance in a faster class with the J/111 is just fantastic. It was also very valuable to get a 48-hour shake down and to get into offshore mode with rotation, food and sleep,” concluded Peter. His crew consisted of Andreas Turesson, Mats Björk, Magnus Hansson, Mattias Bodlund, Simon Kindt, Pelle Pedersen, Patrik Månesskiöld and David Johansson.
In addition to BLUR’s amazing win, the J/109 JUBLE sailed by skipper Jon Holm (Oslo Seilforening) took 3rd in NOR 2 Class. Sailing Photos here courtesy of BLUR Sailing Team. For more Skagen Race sailing information (in Swedish).
J/111 RIPS North Sea Race!(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- John van der Starre & Robin Verhoef's Dutch J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER was the winner of the 18-strong IRC Two-Handed Class, winner of the ORC Two-Handed Class, second ORC Overall, third in IRC 2 Class and fourth IRC Overall! Talk about filling up your trophy shelves in just one race! FOUR trophies in ONE race for ONE boat! This was the tenth North Sea Race for John van der Starre and by far their closest finish. After time correction, Xcentric Ripper won the class by four seconds.
"It was a tough but very nice race for us. There was lots of reaching, which was perfect for a J/111. Winning the Two-Handed Class against very good opposition was very satisfying,” commented John van der Starre. "These days with AIS it is possible to see how well you are doing but you don't know how the weather will change for the boats
behind you. In the delivery race to Harwich, Vuurschepen Race, the wind held up for the boats behind us but for the North Sea Race, that didn't happen. Myself and Robin have been racing together on the boat for four years, so we know our strengths and weaknesses. From the weather forecast we knew that we would have a point where there would be totally no wind on that first night but we know that would give us a good opportunity to gain on the opponents, we decided to stay more to the west, while our opposition went more to the east. The tactic really worked well for us with some good shifts. The wind was picking up, we were planing with about 12 knots of boat speed, it was fantastic but we did have one scary moment, as there were some large navigation marks which were not lit and we passed one by just 30 metres. When we got to Smith's Knoll Buoy, we knew we were in a strong position but to win by just 4 seconds! One little mistake and we would have been second, the Two-Handed Class at the Rolex Fastnet Race is going to be incredible but, having won the class for the North Sea Race, 2015 is already a success for us!”On the way over to Harwich port, the Vuurschepen Race was good practice for all the crews. In ORC 2 division, a duo of J/109s were racing, with JAI LAI (JC Bornet) taking 2nd in class and MAJIC (Arnout Joorritsma) in 8th place. In ORC Two-Handed Class, there were seven very well-sailed and prepared J/Teams. Top J team in this race was the J/109 FIRESTORM (Wim van Slooten/ Jochem Hamstra) in third place and their sistership ARETHUSA (Kees Mijs) was 11th. The J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER (John van der Starre/ Robin Verhoef) was 7th, followed by the J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM (Chris Revelman/ Pascal Bakker) in 8th place. Just behind was the J/105 PANTHER sailed by the women’s team of Yvonne Beusker/ Edith Voskamp finished 9th. After leading the race for a while, the J/133 BATFISH (Bart Desaunois/ Gerard de Boer) took 12th place and in 14th was the J/120 MAVERICK (Chris Schram).
For the return trip in the RORC North Sea Race, the reaching conditions found favor with many of the J teams. In the IRC Double-Handed division, behind the winning duo on the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER was the J/122 JUNIQUE RAYMARINE SAILING TEAM in 4th place, followed by the J/109 FIRESTORM in 5th, then the J/120 MAVERICK in 7th, the J/133 BATFISH in 10th and the women on the J/105 PANTHER in 12th.
Incredibly, the J/111 as a double-handed team took 3rd place in IRC 2 Class with fully crewed boats! Angus Bates’ J/133 ASSARAIN IV took 5th place while Richard Fawcett’s J/120 JAMEERAH took 6th. The J/122 JUNIQUE took 7th and the J/111 BRITISH SOLDIER sailed by Donall Ryan from the British Army Sailing Association placed 8th. 10th was the J/120 MAVERICK. Not a bad showing for J’s in this class, just 6 of the top 10!
Yvonne Beusker on the double-handed women’s team on the J/105 PANTHER provided this report on their collective experience:“Home sweet home! Preparation is everything. Or, as they say, diminishes the worry of unexpected fixes. Edith and I have prepared in wintertime during North Sea IJspegel Trophy winter competition in Scheveningen after our thorough refit/upgrade.
What a feast! So, there we are, participating in the first Two-Handed Nationals ever held in the world. Not an easy one, I must say as these duo's have committed to 3 consecutive races, starting with:
- 130nm offshore Vuurschepen Race from Scheveningen to Harwich/Woolverstone, with 1 day recovery; then
- starting the next 200nm offshore North Sea Race from Harwich back to Scheveningen; and then
- four days of inshore racing during North Sea Regatta!
Ready to start the Vuurschepen Race on Tuesday evening 12 May. Always a bit more excited as you start the race going directly into the night while crossing one of the busiest seas with commercial vessels in the world! If you want to know how a rabbit feels crossing the highway... well here's a good one. We knew to start with a lot of wind, which would completely vanish at dawn. It would cover such a large area that it was impossible to escape. Not a good combination for sailing yachts especially if you add the strong tides to it. In short: the ladies managed to not perform well at the start and when it should have been relatively easy, but kind of outperformed when it tactically became outrageously difficult. These light winds made the race take up about 25.5 hours, much more time then we'd ever sailed it before. Smaller boats obviously arrive later, and the combination small boat plus long period of no wind allows for less time recuperating for the start of the North Sea Race.
So, traditionally Thursday after the Vuurschepen Race and before the North Sea Race, there's the Pinn Mill lunch, followed by the prize giving at Royal Harwich Yacht Club/ Woolverstone. This leaves for only a few morning hours of repairing and preparation for the race starting the day after. Noordzee Club's lunch at Pinn Mill is famous. Always good to be among those 'chosen ones' and peers with the same experience; and well, what happens in Pinn Mill Stays in Pin mill?! ;) If you've never been there, well it's hard to explain. So why not try to attend next year?
Then, the North Sea Race. Traditionally always good to have extra competition from our UK, Belgian and French sailing friends. To our British friends... why are you sailing straight back to the U.K.?? Don't you know the 3rd largest inshore sailing event of West Europe, the North Sea Regatta, is about to start in a few days? Need to work? Well, leave the boat in Scheveningen and book a return on the Harwich ferry?
Again, we prepared for a medium wind start, preparing for a no wind treat in a few hours time. We noticed that we had less time to recuperate and prepare then we'd wish for. It's always difficult when sailing with only two, to schedule for rests and the duration for them. We're human, so we need it. However, with two you can't schedule by the clock, as no wind ever sticks to regular working hours. That's one that needs emphasis in our further practice. After the start, we sailed up to black deep buoy, always a difficult one with the tides around the sand bank. We sure miscalculated the current around buoy! Those were very, very expensive extra minutes we lost and made us in a lesser position entering the no wind zone. We were quite keen on changing headsails, spi's in a timely matter, which was a good heads-up.With all the action, you basically burn calories like crazy. As for the food? To sail on you need high-energy food and munchies like nuts and high fiber dried apricot and so on. There's so much good freeze-dried food available. We had great flavors with us, and a few test versions... let's say, not all the test versions have passed the test for further use.
So back to the race: it was a long one, by dawn welcoming us with cloud covers and rain. With Scheveningen in sight, we had the sun welcoming us back home.
Something that wasn't the case for Luctor3, CoinCoin and Jazz. During the night all 3 hit a buoy, unlit and not located where it was supposed to. We hope that the actions undertaken by the Dutch and English authorities against the owner of these buoys to avoid any further accidents in the future. We feel sorry for you guys. Thank you for your sanity after the accident and warning the fleet behind you of these unlit buoys adrift.
So, now waiting for the price giving for the North Sea Race in a few hours. We congratulate our Two-Handed class winners, with a well-deserved spot.
So, let's talk about those Two-Handed nutheads, which cover one-third of the fleet. It's not just about testosterone. Let's not forget the female die-hards of the Vuurschepen Race: Astrid de Vin– skipper 'Il Corvo', Jessica Wegener– co-skipper 'RoaringX', Els Besse– co-skipper 'Windsprint' and, of course, the Panther team with co-skipper Edith Voskamp and skipper Yvonne Beusker. We challenge other women sailors for more girl-power and girl-competition!
Preliminary scores mention 9th place overall. I guess, we can say we've won 1st prize in the all-women skipper class and also became winner of all female duo's class!! Too bad there's no prize for that!! :)
Suggestion to the Volvo Ocean Race Team SCA- can you support more women’s offshore sailing and set a prize for that?? So, Team SCA, just send me a PM/text and we'll arrange it! :)
Sore muscles. Very tired. A long list full of improvements. But, also satisfied we've also got more good news. With the completion of these races and races last September, we've more than qualified ourselves as a duo for the Fastnet (Rolex Fastnet Race) starting August 2015!! Yipee!! Watch out boys, you may be in trouble yet!” For more North Sea Regatta sailing information.
NOTARO Team Leads J/70 ALCATEL OneTouch Trophy(San Remo, Italy)- Twenty-five teams from three countries contested the second leg of the J/70 ALCATEL ONETOUCH Italian Trophy this past weekend, May 16 and 17. Classic San Remo gentle breezes, varying in direction from 230 to 235 degrees and generally averaging between 7 to 12 knots graced the two-day, five-race event hosted by Yacht Club San Remo.
At the halfway mark into the Alcatel OneTouch J/70 Italian National Open Championship, top honors went to NOTARO Team helmed by Luca Domenici. After taking the lead on day one, thanks to the positive scoreline of 3-2-1, the Domenici’s NOTARO Team stayed on the top to claim the final victory of the act. Landing second, five points back, was Alessio Marinelli's UJI UJI while the third place on equal points went to CALVI NETWORK helmed by the reigning Italian and European J/70 champion Carlo Alberini. Local San Remo sailor Franco Solerio on L’ELAGAIN, with tactician Gaetano Figlia di Granara, finished fourth followed by the Swedish Ingemar Sunstedt's ROCAD RACING in fifth and the Monegasque team on CARPE DIEM skippered by Jacopo Carrain in sixth.Despite the fact the second leg of the J/70 ALCATEL ONETOUCH Italian Trophy ended up with an all-Italian podium, the Swedish ROCAD RACING continues to keep the chase for taking the top spots on the overall leaderboard. Top team overall is NOTARO Team with 35 pts, followed by L’ELAGAIN in 2nd with 39 pts and 3rd is UJI UJI with 53 pts. ROCAD RACING is 4th with 60 pts and CARPE DIEM is 5th with 75 pts.
Finally, with two events and 15 races sailed in the circuit, the teams are now looking forward to the next appointment to be held in Cervia, Ravenna (June 12-14) before moving towards La Rochelle for the J/70 World Championship in July! Sailing Photo credits- Fabio Taccola For more Italian J/70 sailing information
CHARLY Loves J/80 GPEN!(Camaret, France)- At Camaret, the J/80 Class has always been very loyal to the Grand Prix Ecole Navale France Championship Monotype habitable. Camaret even organized the J/80 2006 European Championship. It is this year, again, the largest class at GPEN are the J/80s; with 58 boats it also marked a participation record for the event. While starting off very slowly on the first day of racing, it was Martin Bertrand’s CHARLY Team (Xavier Lara, Thomas Haddouche, Julien Lebru, and Amelie Grassi) that closed with a flourish of top five finishes to win by 9 pts.
For the first day of racing on the harbor waters of Brest, it was anything but easy for many of the top teams. The sailing conditions were ideal (8-9 knots in the morning, 12 kts in the afternoon from the WNW with a strong current and sun!). It allowed the Race Committee, chaired by Alexandre BOUCHARD, to launch three races, including two starts under the terrible black rule. Overall, no crew really dominated for the day, the differences were small and the standings changed dramatically virtually every race.
The overall standings after 3 races were PIERRE OCEANE (Herve Leduc) in first, followed by GAN’JA (Luc Nadal) and COURIER JUNIOR (Eric Brezellec) in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Like the day before, the J/80 teams started their first race a little before 11:00 am. The Race Committee was able to launch four races in ideal conditions: 8-16 kts of WNW breezes oscillating somewhat evenly and, again, with lots of sun! The general recalls resulted in black flags, including the last race that was fatal for many teams. Because of the adverse current on the line, about fifteen boats were BFD.The overall standings changed dramatically after the first day. At this point, CHARLY leapt into first overall, followed by PIERRE OCEANE in 2nd and Brezellec’s team hanging onto 3rd. Crashing hard and fast down the standings after two BFD’s was Nadal’s GAN’JA. The most startling advancement up the standings in this game of “snakes & ladders” was ECOLE NAVALE sailed by Frederic Hauville, posting two bullets in the last two races to climb into 4th overall!
For the final day, the RC got the fleet out early for a 0930 hrs start. However, light winds were the enemy of all good planning and efforts. Unfortunately, the Race Committee was unable to launch races because the weather conditions were too light: 2-4 knots of wind oscillating between 300 and 350 with lots of current, bright sun, and perfectly smooth water! As a result, the RC sent the fleet home just before noontime.
The title of “Champion of France Monotype habitable” was awarded to the young Rochelais crew of CHARLY sailed by Martin Bertrand. "This is our first victory in J/80 and only our second competition on this level after the Spi Ouest France Intermarché. We are a young crew (average 23 years) from the 470 class. Our goal this year is the World Championship in Kiel early July. This is a bay that we know well as we often sailed 470s there. We look forward in any case to the Championship of France organized here in GPEN; it was good preparation for the Worlds,“ commented Bertrand.
The runner-up was PIERRE OCEAN skippered by Herve Leduc and his team of Loic Avram, Etienne Luenau, Alexandre Goyer and Nathalie Giloy. The crew of COURIER JUNIOR (Herve Corlay, Morgan Riou, Julie Richeux, Nicolas Richard) steered by Eric Brezellec completed the podium. Fourth went to ECOLE NAVALE, notable for Hauville’s incredible comeback feat on Saturday. Fifth was APCC EQUIPE JEUNNE helmed by Hugo Abeguile.
A big thank you for the excellent organization of this event, especially Alain DAOULAS (and teams), Nautical Commissioner of the race, Alexandre BOUCHARD (and his team), Chairman of the Race Committee, for its professionalism, and the city of Camaret (and volunteers) for the fantastic welcome.
Of the nine women skippers in the event (nearly 10% of the boats), the top two women’s teams finished in the top ten! They were Maxime Rousseaux on CN ST CAST/ GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES in 7th place (notably posting a 5-2-1 scoreline in the middle of the series!) and Maxime Mesnil’s CO-PILOTES in 10th place. Sailing photo credits- Pierrick Contin For more Grand Prix de l'Ecole Navale sailing information
Joyous J’s Sail Vice Admiral's CupJ/111 McFLY & J/109 JELLY BABY Victorious
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK)- This year’s Vice Admiral’s Cup Regatta could not have been more fortunate with the sailing conditions all weekend long. With the extraordinary PRO and RC work from the host Royal Corinthian Yacht Club’s team, the sailors managed to enjoy nine races over the weekend’s racing from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th May. Since its introduction, the event has gone from strength to strength with its simple close-racing format and the fun social program made it exceedingly enjoyable for the competitors. Reveling in the on-water and onshore repartee’ was Tony Mack’s McFLY winning the J/111 class and Ian Nagle’s Irish team aboard the J/109 JELLY BABY. Here is how it all went down on the usually tricky Solent weather conditions.
Day 1:
The opening day saw a 35 strong fleet enjoy three exciting light to moderate airs races. Initially, a lack of wind forced Race Officer Rob Lamb to call for a two-hour postponement ashore. His timing and assessment of the conditions proved to be spot on and by the revised start time of 13.30 the fleet was in the race area and a light west-south-westerly breeze was building.
Although the conditions were cooperating and the teams were ready to go, circumstances beyond the race committee’s control saw one of the mark laying boats briefly out of action with technical issues and another called away to assist with a May Day rescue. To allow time to get the mark boats back on station a further 15-minute postponement was made and the race committee set up a compromise windward leeward course using Solent marks to reduce waiting time for the competitors.
For the first two races the J/111 and J/109 fleets were combined and made a spectacular sight as they crossed the line. Although spectacular, the combining of the fleets made life quite challenging for the J/109s who not only had to battle each other, but also find clear lanes behind the slightly faster J/111s. For race three, all four fleets raced independently, which made life much simpler for the tacticians aboard the now, separate J/111s and J/109s.
All three races were run on windward leeward courses. After his opening Solent marks based course, Rob Lamb was able to run races two and three on laid mark windward/leeward courses with varying leg lengths, start line lengths and finish line configurations giving great racing and keeping everyone on their toes. The wind continued to build, eventually topping out in the mid teens by the end of the third race.
Tony Mack and his crew aboard “McFly” dominated the J/111s. This experienced and well-practiced team took two race wins and were only narrowly beaten in race two by Stuart Sawyer’s “Black Dog”. Racing throughout the rest of the fleet was tight with plenty of place changing and close action. “McFly’s” consistency gives her the overnight lead by three points from “Black Dog” who added a fourth and second to their race win to end the day a single point ahead of third placed “Jitterbug”, owned by Cornel Riklin.Ian Nagle’s J/109 “Jelly Baby” emulated “McFly’s” success by also posting a 2, 1, 1 scoreline. Their nearest rival, the Royal Naval Sailing Association’s “Jolly Jack Tar” started off the day with flying colours and a first and second place, but struggled in the third race finishing sixth, so that overall “Jelly Baby” now leads “Jolly Jack Tar” by five points. Third place overnight is filled by Paul Griffiths and his team aboard “Jagerbomb”, who took sixth in the opening race but then picked up to add a pair of third places, leaving them on twelve points overall and three points adrift of “Jolly Jack Tar”.
Day 2:
After the opening day’s cold and grey conditions, the sun made a welcome appearance on the second day. It was joined by a lovely northwesterly breeze that kicked off the day in the high teens with guests up towards 25 knots, and gradually dropped to around 10 to 12 knots for the later races. The sparkling conditions enabled the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Race Committee to run four more windward leeward races making the total number sailed so far seven and bringing the discard into play.
The first race of the day, race four in the series, was the windiest and there were plenty of thrills and spills to entertain the spectators, particularly amongst the notoriously tippy Quarter Tonners. Although several boats did spin out there were no serious incidents and everyone made the most of the stunning conditions. For the most part the fleets were very well behaved on the start line with just a few individual recalls, although the J/109s did blot their copybook in race five by forcing a general recall. Fortunately, the race committee had them turned round again within minutes and they were all clear at the second time of asking.
The J/111s continued to be dominated by Tony Mack’s “McFly” who faltered only briefly in race four with a second, but then went on to win three straight races giving them a six point margin over their nearest rival. Stuart Sawyer’s “Black Dog” was the boat that got the better of “McFly” in race four and they went on to add a neatly sequential second, third and fourth to their card giving them 13 points overall. “Black Dog” now lies second overall and has a comfortable twelve point cushion, but the battle for third place is going to be a close one with “Mustigo”, owned by Scholefield/McDonald/Thomas just a single point ahead of both “Icarus”, owned by Andrew Christie & Chris Body, and “JElvis”, owned by Martin Dent, who both count 26 points going into the final day.The J/109 class saw the fiercest battles of the day with three different winners of the four races. By far the most consistent performer with a 1, 3, 1, 2 score was Ian Nagle’s “Jelly Baby” who continues to lead the class and has extended their margin to 13 points. Yesterday’s second place “Jolly Jack Tar”, owned by the Royal Naval Sailing Association, did not find the winder conditions to her liking and dropped down from second to fourth place. Leapfrogging over her was Robert Stiles “Diamond Jem”, who won race five and is now on equal points with Paul Griffith’s “Jagerbomb”, which continues to hold third place on count back. Both boats are counting 21 points and discarding a seventh place. In fact just four points separate second to sixth place in the J/109s with Tony Dickin’s “Jubilee” fifth with 23 points and David Rolfe’s “Shadowfax”, winner of race seven, sixth overall on 25 points. Tomorrow’s final day is going to be an exciting one for the J/109s.
After racing a delighted Robert Stiles of second placed J/109 “Diamond Jem” commented, “It was fantastic sailing today. Good wind and the race officer did terribly well in keeping the races rolling. We’re very glad we got four races in. We’re an all amateur crew of weekend sailors from Brighton Yacht Club and we’ve come up to the Solent for this event that gives great class racing for us. Neil Angel is our tactician and his experience as a past winner of Cowes Week in the 1720s is invaluable. It’s all to play for and as always seconds count and it will no doubt be like that tomorrow. It is the most challenging racing and the whole crew enjoys the sheer excitement that the J/109 class always generates.”
Day 3:
Perfect Solent Conditions For The Finale! When the Solent is on form it truly is one of the world’s great sailing venues and today’s conclusion demonstrated this perfectly.
As forecast, the day opened with light airs and overcast skies so Race Officer Rob Lamb initially held the crews ashore giving them time to enjoy a relaxed Sunday morning coffee. By noon the sun was out, a classic Solent sea breeze was building from the south west and racing was underway for the first of two windward leewards for all classes, races eight and nine of the series.
Tony Mack and his crew aboard J/111 “McFly” were once again on flying form and took a very confident win in race eight to secure the series. They were enjoying the racing so much that they stayed out for race nine and cruised to third place which they promptly discarded as their worst result. Stuart Sawyer’s “Black Dog” secured second place overall by taking third in race eight and second in race nine to finish the series eight points behind “McFly”. The battle for third was a close one with “Mustigo”, owned by the Scholefield/McDonald/Thomas partnership, Andrew Christie and Chris Body’s “Icarus” and Martin Dent’s “JElvis” separated by just a single point going into the final day. “Mustigo” declared her intentions from the off and finished race eight in second place, with “Icarus” fourth and “JElvis” sixth. As they lined up for the final race “Mustigo” now counted 27 points, “Icarus” 30 and “JElvis” 32. “Mustigo” had the bit between her teeth though and stormed to race victory to secure her place on the third step of the J/111 podium.
Asked after racing for the secret of their success Tony Mack, owner of J/111 “McFly” wryly said; “Firstly it was lovely weather, it didn’t rain! Also, I think we just got lots of things right, which in the past we haven’t always. We seemed to get the rig settings right for each race for the sails. Playing the right wind shifts helped and we just got further and further ahead. Jeremy Smart is our tactician and he got us simply brilliant starts in all but one race. I think in fairness to the other competitors we’ve done it where we’ve got everything wrong. I think that’s why everybody goes sailing to hope that they get a weekend like this, one where everything just comes together. Our class rules allow us one professional, who is Jeremy, but everyone else is an amateur. We’re quite a small crew physically, so we can sail with nine people within the weight limit and the crew range from a student, an IBM Executive and a windsurfing instructor to my wife and various friends. We’ve sailed together a lot which I think is half of it and we make sure the boat is one that everyone likes to sail on so they want to come back.”
In the J/109s Ian Nagle’s “Jelly Baby” put the final stamp on their already impressive lead by adding a third followed by a win to secure first place overall. Whilst the victor was a foregone conclusion the same could not be said of the remaining podium positions with just four points separating Robert Stiles’ “Diamond Jem”, Paul Griffiths’ “Jagerbomb”, the RNSA’s “Jolly Jack Tar”, Tony Dickin’s “Jubilee” and David Rolfe’s “Shadowfax” overnight. The tension was palpable as the boats came to the line and it was nip and tuck from start to finish of race eight. “Shadowfax” took her second race victory of the series and was followed across the line by “Jagerbomb”, “Jelly Baby”, “Jubilee”, “Diamond Jem” and then “Jolly Jack Tar”. A quick recalculation of the points revealed that “Jagerbomb” now lay second on 23 points, “Shadowfax” and “Jolly Jack Tar” were both on 26 points and “Jubliee” and “Diamond Jem” both had 27 points. Right from the final warning flag, the boats were jockeying for position and there were plenty of places changing on every leg of the course. At the line, “Shadowfax” crossed second behind “Jelly Baby”, “Jubilee” was third and “Jagerbomb” fourth. “Jolly Jack Tar” could only manage an eighth, their worst result of the series, and “Diamond Jem” was ninth. Overall that meant that “Jagerbomb” took second place overall by a single point from “Shadowfax” with “Jubilee” fourth, “Jolly Jack Tar” fifth and “Diamond Jem” sixth.Having travelled all the way from Cork to compete in this year’s Vice Admiral’s Cup regatta was “Jelly Baby’s” owner Ian Nagle. He was “pleasantly surprised” with their success. “We’ve done pretty well in Ireland, we’ve won a couple of ICRA Nationals in 2012 and 2014 and we won the Irish J/109 Nationals last year, but this is our first time out of Ireland. We’ve come from Cork and are staying to do the J-Cup as well. We genuinely didn’t know how we would fare against the English boats. There are no J/109s in Cork so we weren’t sure how we were going to do, but I think after race 3 we felt might be on the pace. We were very happy with the race management. That kind of fast turn around was great, its lovely to race and start again quickly, that’s what its all about really. He [Rob] did a great job as there was so little wind on Friday so to get the three races in that day was magic. We were full of praise for him. After that we’re mad for more!”
After racing the crews gathered at the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s delightful Cowes clubhouse for the prize giving where RORC Admiral Andrew McIrvine presented the prizes to the luck crews and thanked all the competitors for attending and once again making the Vice Admiral’s Cup a resounding success. He also paid tribute to Rob Lamb and his Race Committee for their sterling work and thanked the club's volunteers and staff for their excellent support. For more Vice Admiral’s Cup sailing information
JUST IN TIME Winners @ Wannsee Woche(Berlin, Germany)- As the first major J/70 regatta of the season hosted by Potsdamer YC on the Wannsee in Berlin, it was the team of JUST IN TIME skippered by Gordon Nickel (including Sebastian Rocke, Fiege Nils-Mathes, Nils Merten Farber) that took the thirteen boat fleet overall honors. As they say in America, they were first to “punch out” on the time-clock after a weekend of long hard work!
The event had two days of racing with six total races- three each on Saturday and Sunday. Both days were just about spectacularly perfect— 8 to 18 kts of breeze, some of the best sailing conditions anyone could imagine for the middle of Berlin’s beautiful lake (one of the coolest cities in the middle of Europe!)
For the first day of sailing, the crew of DUFTe skippered by Frank-Uwe Fuchs was the runaway leader with a 1-7-1 tally. Tied for second were Nickel’s JUST IN TIME team with a 6-6-2 and Maxmilian Nickel’s team on JUKEBOX with a 4-3-5.The second day of sailing brought more good breezes, more sun and even shiftier, puffier breezes! In the end, it was Nickel’s JUST IN TIME crew that closed out the regatta with a strong series of races and won with a scorecard of 6-6-2-2-2-1 for 13 pts net.
In what seems to be a rather normal scenario for incredibly close J/70 one-design racing, the next two boats on the podium ended up tied on points for second overall. Winning the tie-breaker with a record of 1-7-1-5-6-4 for 17 pts net was Fuchs’ DUFTe from Yacht
Club Berlin Grünau. Third was Max Nickel’s Berliner Yacht Club team sitting on a 4-3-5-1-4-5 record on the same 17 pts net (note- they were the only team in the top three to score all top five finishes).Also of note was the family team aboard QUICKLY BEE- GER 728; Jürgen Freiheit sailed with his wife Birgit Freiheit and their son Oliver Freiheit and his girl-friend Martje Uecker. After just taking delivery of their boat, this was their first major J/70 regatta and they managed a 3rd in their first race and a first in their 5th race of the regatta! Perhaps more good news from this family effort in the near future! For more Germany J/70 sailing information
CATAPULT Launched @ Cedar Point (Cedar Point, CT)- The light and fickle winds over the weekend made it difficult to run sailing races on Long Island Sound. But, Principal Race Officer Dick Thackaberry of Stratford found a way to conduct three good races, completing the first Long Island Sound Championships for the hugely popular J/70 class sailboats.
The winner was Joel Running’s CATAPULT team from Minneapolis, Minnesota, managing to post a 2-1-7 in the tough sailing for a total of 10 pts. Taking second was current J/70 World Champion Tim Healy on USA 2- Team HELLY HANSEN with a 1-8-4 for 13 pts. Tim was tied with Scot & Alex Furnary’s ANY COLOUR from American YC in Rye, New York who had a 5-7-1 for 13 pts, losing the tie-breaker. Fourth was Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Charleston, South Carolina with 15 pts. Among local sailors competing, Kerry Klinger of Norwalk was fifth, Richard and Stephanie Swann of Westport were 10th, Bill Walker of Easton and Allan Stern of Westport were 12th, the all-family team of Charlie and Sarah Neagoy and their daughters Grace and Evelyn of Simsbury finished 18th.
In the Corinthians Class, it as Noel Clinard again collecting more silverware, winning with LOONATICTU with 28 pts. Second was Carrie & Ed Austin sailing CHINOOK with 36 pts and third was Bill Walker & Allan Stern’s FAST 4WD.
For many teams it was a very difficult regatta to stay consistent. Reflecting the depth and the competitiveness of the fleet in general was the fact that four World Champions didn’t even crack the top five in a 22 boat fleet! Next up for the J/70s is the Bacardi Newport Sailing Week in July in Newport, Rhode Island. For more Cedar Point One-Design regatta sailing information
3 BIG DOGS Chomp J/24 Western RegionalsJ/70 PRIME NUMBER Sweeps Elite Keel Class
(Belvedere, CA)- The beautiful San Francisco Yacht Club, situated on Belvedere Cove facing the famous Raccoon Straits inside of Angel Island, hosted their annual Elite Keelboat Regatta and the J/24 Western Regional Championship from May 16 to 17. The J/70 class had eight boats racing on the Berkeley Circle along with the fleet of twelve J/24s.
As a Worlds Qualifier regatta, the J/24s were the headliner class for the weekend. Sailing like a rabid dog going after the last bone on Earth (e.g. like the MadMax movie), Pat Toole’s Santa Barbara YC team on 3 BIG DOGS (past J/24 North American Champions) proved they still had all the skills necessary to be top dog for the weekend, posting four bullets and a 5th to win with 9 pts.
Not surprisingly, another J/24 class leader, the ultra-suave team on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH from Corinthian YC in Seattle, WA, were whipped into a frenzy of energy and uber tactics-calling by their chief cook, bottle washer and skipper- Scott Milne; they posted four deuces and a trey to easily grab second overall for the event.
Rounding out the podium was Paul van Ravenswaay’s FERAL ROOSTER with just 23 pts. Behind them in fourth was another CYC Seattle boat, Carl Sheath’s SUSPENCE with 25 pts. Fifth place was decided by a tie-breaker with James Baurley’s CRITTER taking it over Darren Cumming’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR.
The all SF Bay J/70 class was pretty well dominated by Peter Cameron’s PRIME NUMBER; their 2-3-1-1-1 scored them just 8 pts. Starting quickly but fading into the fog and haze was Geoff McDonald’s 1FA with a 1-1-3-2-2 for 9 pts. Then, the consistent Chris Kostanecki on JENNIFER posted all 2nds & 3rds to grab third place with 13 pts.
Just behind the top three, it was a complete free-for-all with nothing getting settled for the next five boats until the last race or two. Winning this heart-stopping, anxiety-ridden roller coaster was Tom Thayer’s RAMPAGE, taking fourth place by a whisker with 25 pts. Only one point back in fifth place was John Brigden’s COOL STORY BRO. For more Elite Keel/ J/24 Western Regionals sailing information
MADELEINE Enjoys Lovely J/24 Spring Cup(Poole, England)- The J/24 Spring Cup, hosted by Parkstone Yacht Club, is the first regatta of the season and a great opportunity to catch up with other J/24 sailors, both on and off the water, since the last regatta in October. With two major European Regattas over the coming year, the scene was set for two days of competitive sailing as we re-acquainted ourselves with windward-leeward courses. Poole gave us near perfect conditions, with a fair breeze and sunshine for our first day.
The first race saw conditions of 20 knots plus and the whole fleet on jib; the race committee gave us a great first course despite shifty conditions. Whilst we raced closely, there were some familiar names in the leader board, taking the right lifts and spotting the right side of the course. By the end of Race 2 the inconsistent breeze had most of us thinking that we could change up to Genoa but it wasn't until the start of Race 3, when the wind dropped that teams knew a mid race, downwind sail change could be the difference between a top placing and a mid fleet finish. MADELEINE’s start in Race 3 was hampered by the tide, however, skipper Duncan McCarthy not only performed a flawless sail change but also sailed through the fleet to finish first.
Dominica Lindsey, new to J/24 helming on her boat PHOENIX, sailed a great regatta with an impressive 3rd in the 3rd race. William Lack is admired for his tireless enthusiasm encouraging the youth sailors on VINYL SOLUTIONS. Simon Lack sailed an impressive Race 5 and came a close 3rd to two of the fleet’s top helms. Whilst it was clear that both Roger Morris’ JOLLY ROGER and Andy Taylor’s HITCH HIKER are still in a 'developmental phase', they gave a flash of their potential, each with 1st place finish by the end of the regatta.
Everyone agreed the conditions were incredibly changeable, which led to some tough calls on which side of the course was favored. However, the leader board showed that our top crews consistently made the right calls over the 6 races. Congratulations to McCarthy’s crew on MADELEINE (Steve Phelps, Spencer Whitworth, Hannah McCarthy & Charlie Fisher) for their simply brilliant performance with a 1-2-1-1-2-4 scorecard and just 7 pts net. They fought a closely-matched series of races against Matt Hardy’s CHAOTIC crew (Hugh Styles, Tom Montgomery, Joanna Bainbridge, & Ian Henry) that collected a 2-1-2-3-6-2 tally for 10 pts net. Lying third on the podium was Roger Morris’ team on JOLLY ROGER (Paul William, John Sparrow, David Sparrow & Nina Squire), improving every race (literally) to post 9-6-4-2-1-6 scores for 19 pts.
A hearty “Thanks” to the Race Committee for a great weekend racing and Parkstone YC for hosting the hungry sailors and providing delicious food and cold beer! A special mention too, to local Mark Bennett’s “Patisserie” for consistently brilliant, yummy sandwiches! For more UK J/24 Spring Cup sailing information
Spectacular, Sunny Swiftsure RegattaHot Racing for J/105s, J/111s and J/120s
(San Francisco, CA)- The St Francis YC played host to the Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta last weekend for fleets of J/105s, J/111s and J/120s. Not surprisingly, the San Francisco Bay conditions delivered in spades with the StFYC PRO able to run five races on the western end of the Bay between Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge- a.k.a. “the city front course.”
Perhaps the most surprising element of this year’s event was the fact that despite tremendous parity between the top teams in all three J classes, it was a set of new (or re-invented) players that simply dominated their fleets. Almost as if on cue, the top boats all managed to avoid bad races in the no-throw-out series.
While many of the usual suspects in San Francisco’s famous J/105 fleet populated the top five, it was Jeff Litfin’s MOJO team that experienced a resurgence of speed and smarts for the weekend. Yes, they truly got their “mojo” going with an amazing record of 4-1-6-1-1 for 13 pts, winning by the enormous margin (for the J/105 class, that is) of 12 pts! In a distant second place and fighting hard to stay there was one of the class leaders, Bruce Stone’s ARBITRAGE. In a four-boat fight for the top five, ARBITRAGE hung on by a whisker to post a 2-2-5-11-5 for 25 pts. Just two points behind them was the trio of Steve, Paul and Gregg Kent on PERSEVERANCE with 27 pts. The rest of the top five included Ryan Simmons’ every-present BLACKHAWK in 4th and Doug Bailey’s AKULA in 5th.
The J/111 class on SF Bay was in for a bit of a shocker. Winning their first major regatta in a thoroughly convincing fashion was Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY. Sure is hard to beat five straight bullets for a mere 5 pts! Equally convincing in their consistency was a newcomer to the J/111 class, the San Diegan team on PERSEVERANCE skippered by Bennet Greenwald; their 5-2-2-2-3 was good enough for 14 pts and second overall. Dick Swanson’s BAD DOG sailed fast and consistent to snare a 2-5-4-4-4 scorecard for 19 pts and third place. Lying 4th was Nessrin Basoz’s SWIFT NESS and 5th was Dorian McKelvy’s MADMEN.Like the 105s and 111s, the J/120s had a relatively “new” team at the top of the podium after the fog of war cleared on Sunday. With an amazing 1-2-1-1-3 for just 8 pts, David Halliwill’s PEREGRINE team was ecstatic with their win, one of the more dominating performances in the J/120 class in quite some time. Second was Steve Madeira’s MR MAGOO with a more “normal” class score of 4-1-2-4-1 for 12 pts, such is the closeness of the fleet. Third was Barry Lewis’ CHANCE with 14 pts. Sailing photo credits- Chris Ray. For more St FYC Swiftsure Regatta sailing information
PNW One Design A Success!
(Seattle, WA)- Yes, the first time the Pacific Northwest One-Design (POD) Regatta was run, and hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, it can safely be called a success! Just three months after the spark of an idea, over 60 boats came out for this inaugural event. None of this would be possible without the exceptional leadership of our Fleet Captain, Noj Henderson, a capable cadre of volunteers, and our great staff. A huge "shout out" goes to the co-chairs, Steve Sponar & Michele Henderson for taking care of the myriad of details necessary to pull off a regatta on short notice. Special thanks to Phil Nieman, who designed the brilliant POD logo from a couple of scraps of paper hastily drawn at the Boat Show.
Jenn Whitsett from the Seattle Aquarium and Carl Buchan started the weekend off with talks about orca whales and improving sailing success. Both talks were fantastic!
Massive thanks goes to Geoff Peas (this man deserved a medal and GOT ONE), who jumped in at 5 minutes before committee boat launch to serve as PRO on the south course. Our talented and fabulous race committee volunteers, Deb Prince, Joan Chandler, Jeanne McNeil, Joel Highet, Christine Bounds-Poulin, Bob Combie, Paul Carter, Stan & Joyce Buchart, Lorraine Carter, Frost Keaton, and Chuck Stevens were outstanding. Tim Adamson proved to be an exceptional addition to the volunteer staff, and served as a whaler driver. Our staff PRO, Charlie Rathkopf, and scorer Catherine Picha were great, as always.
Our volunteer bartenders included three Commodores! Thanks to Brian Watkins, Jerry Diercks, and Denny Vaughan, along with members Jeff Pullig, Howard Ferguson, and Sarah & Daniel Diaz. A thirsty crowd kept them very busy! Office staff Beth & Celeste handled last minute drama smoothly and efficiently, per usual, and Chef Jeromi rocked it with the tasty snacks.
We were fortunate to have the lovely and talented Jan Anderson and her Boat Boy Skip out to document the event – they are truly wonderful people – go support them with your event photo purchases!
Without this stellar cast of characters, this event would not have been possible! THANK YOU, ALL!
On the sailing side of things, there was a nice turnout of J/105s and J/80s. Taking the J/105 class was Jim Geros’ LAST TANGO with a 1-2-2-1 score for 6 pts. Second was Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM with a 3-1-1-3 record for 8 pts. Then, in 3rd overall was David Cohen’s INCONCEIVABLE with a 2-3-3-2 for 10 pts.
The J/80s saw a runaway as their class leader, with Lek Dimarucot’s UNDERDOG (appropriately named, eh) scoring only four 1sts to win by a country mile. The race for the balance of the podium was not so easy; in fact, it was a bit of a dog fight the whole way with both boats earning virtually identical scores and points. By beating them the last race, Steve Moe’s CRAZY IVAN scored a 2-3-3-2 for 10 pts to grab 2nd. Losing that tie-break was Mike Poole’s JOLLY GREEN with the inverse scoreline of 3-2-2-3 for 10 pts, too! For more CYC PNW One-Design sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
-----------
* “22 Too Many” is volunteer organization that helps American war veterans adapt & re-integrate into society. In Newport, these veterans had a great time at the Volvo Ocean Race Village and, more importantly, they had a chance to socialize with real ocean-racing sailors and sail with them on the fleet of Sail Newport’s J/22s off Fort Adams. Their experience was highlighted here in this sweet sailing video. Watch the “22 Too Many” YouTube sailing video here:
* Is Ken Read worth his salt?? Maybe. More importantly, he took a graceful dive worthy of an Olympic Gold Medalist diver! How did that happen, one might ask?? The President of North Sails taking a dive into the freezing cold salt water of Narragansett Bay?Well, some clever people at Sailors for the Sea dreamt up the crazy idea to get sailors to donate cash to their organization to support the Sailors for the Sea's “No Trash No Trail No Trace”
campaign and get North Sails President Ken Read to jump off Volvo Ocean Race boat Team Brunel at Leg 7 start! In the end, the donation goal was matched and sure enough, Ken hopped into a comfy drysuit and just after passing Castle Hill Light, he jumped off the transom of Team BRUNEL- not a bad dive for a card-carrying member of the A.A.R.P.!
* J/24 ace Charlie Enright and crew aboard Team ALVIMEDICA had yet another good Inshore Race as part of the Volvo Ocean Race festivities in last week’s stopover in Newport, Rhode Island. In what became a parade after their awesome start, Charlie’s crew made the most of his local knowledge of current and wind patterns to earn an easy 2nd place. On Sunday, May 17th, the fleet started at 1400 hrs and took off over the horizon to Lisbon, Portugal after doing a windward-leeward course in Narragansett Bay. ALVIMEDICA's On-Board Reporter, local Newport sailor and photographer Amory Ross, had this to say about their Newport stop-over:
“We were legitimately speechless, looking at the hundreds of boats lining the racecourse and the thousands of fans along the Newport shore, and when we rounded Castle Hill and the spectator fleet converged to lead us back into the Atlantic I saw nothing but smiles in every direction!
Never did we expect that kind of a turnout during a chilly May weekend in Rhode Island, but instead we were treated to a Narragansett Bay mob maybe bigger than it ever!? Alby thinks he finally knows what it feels like to be a “footballer.” Housty says it was the most impressive sight he’s seen in three Volvo Ocean Races. Nick imagines it as busy or busier than Newport in the 80’s, during the America’s Cup glory days his father always reminisces about. It was almost overwhelming--the energy and enthusiasm that everyone showed for this little event of ours--and even if just for a few hours you made us feel like rock stars. Thank you!!
We are so proud of Newport, of sailing in America, and for the unrivaled passion and excitement that we all experienced during our short stay there. Sailing is alive and well in the Ocean State and while we of course relish the return to racing, it was very, very, hard to say goodbye.
On a personal note, I was blown away by the amount of kids walking through the village, and by how much they knew. Even a surprised Will, dressed in plainclothes and very much hoping to fly under the radar, was stopped to the tune of Mr. Oxley and a cheering class of 4th graders. I am out here because I love sailing and because I love sharing our adventures, and to meet so many young kids who are following along, who say they want to someday grow up to sail in this race, and who ask the guys only one question: how do I get to where you are? It makes everything that we do worthwhile. To inspire others is as worthy a task as there ever was.” Follow Team ALVIMEDICA's sailing experiences here. Watch this sailing video clip- “Inspiring the Next Generation of Sailors”.J/Cruisers
J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.
* The J/40 HERON REACH sailed by Virginia and Jerry is participating in the Blue Planet Odyssey project and have recently joined them in the Marquesas Islands in the Eastern Pacific. Learn more about their adventures and experiences here- http://heronreachodyssey.blogspot.com/
* J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our "blue planet Earth" in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, "The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell 'Painkiller' at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"
Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."
READ MORE ABOUT BILL'S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.
* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".
- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.
|
In addition, Porto Cervo itself will ensure a successful event, renowned for beautiful azure waters, temperate climate, plentiful sunshine, and gorgeous attractions. The unbeatable combination of great sailing waters, top class race management and YC Costa Smeralda's amazing hospitality will all be celebrated during the club’s 50th anniversary— its members are enthusiastic to host a memorable fourth edition of the J/70 World Championship. Click 
The Vuurschepenrace Race to Harwich started on Tuesday afternoon. After the start off Scheveningen, the fleet had a reach north along the coast to the first mark (NAM 22), just offshore of the seaside village of Katwijk. After turning left, the fleet was facing westerlies in the 10-15 kts range overnight going to the mid-channel mark in a WNW direction. In short, the entire fleet was hard on the nose, very tightly packed together, hoping to make headway in the 
choppy channel that is loaded with ships everywhere (here’s the AIS map- vesselfinder.com- of the channel as 0200 hours on Wednesday!).
Founded in 1869, The San Francisco Yacht Club is the oldest club on the Pacific Coast. The original anchorage and clubhouse were located in San Francisco near Mission Rock, but inadequate depth of water and increasing industrial growth in the area resulted in a move to Sausalito. Later, increasing ferry traffic and congestion contributed to a decision to move again in 1926. One group, headed by Commodore Clifford Smith, felt that Belvedere Cove would be an ideal location. Another group felt that the Club should move back to San Francisco and lease land from the City on the Marina. One group stayed with the club at its current Belvedere site, those who opposed the move resigned and formed St. Francis Yacht Club! 
On Sunday 10th, Blue Project and its J/80 fleet conquered the local racing scene, showcasing the last match of the Winter Sailing Series in front of Santa Margherita Ligure. The winners of the Winter Sailing Series 2014-2015 were the VELAMARE TEAM consisting of Ms Fiore Baruffi, Matteo Soppera, Matteo Colombo, and Andrea Rizzato.
* Stephanie Roble, Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and USA Women’s #1 Match Racer, has been sailing for the past two years with John Brim on his J/70 RIMETTE. John loves sailing his boat and he has assembled a fun, easy-going, and extremely talented crew. Steph has been helping John and the crew sail faster, get better organized, and focus on teamwork. Here are some of Steph’s pearls of wisdom after sailing in the Helly Hansen Annapolis NOOD Regatta:
* Both Sally Barkow and Charlie Enright were happy to arrive in Newport after completing their long leg in the Volvo Ocean Race from Itajai, Brazil to Newport. Sally (a J/22 and J/24 sailor and top woman Match Racer from Neenah, Wisconsin) is sailing as one of the skippers on Team SCA and Charlie (J/24 champion and Fleet #50 champion) is sailing as skipper of Team ALVIMEDICA. We had a chance to chat with them at the New York YC Harbour Court Commissioning Ceremony, presided over by Reverend Mary Johnstone. 
Both sailors are completing a weeks worth of festivities in Newport, RI and are preparing for their assault on the last long distance leg of the 2014/ 2015 Volvo Ocean Race. Both have credited the discipline and focus they learned as one-design sailors against the world’s best competition as a solid base on which to build their offshore capabilities. Both are sailing on teams that are relative novices at the offshore racing game, at least compared to the considerable talent arrayed against them on boats such as Abu Dhabi Racing and Dong Feng Racing teams. 
Ironically, it’s another champion J/24 sailor from the United Kingdom, Ian Walker, who is capitalizing on his experience both in one-design and offshore to be the current fleet leader as the skipper of Abu Dhabi. It seems that both Abu Dhabi and Dong Feng both have “third gears” that no one else have seemed to discover when any of the boats are in a “close reaching/ power beating” scenario. 
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.