J-Cup Back To Hamble!(Hamble, England)- The J-Cup 2014 will be hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club in Hamble, the heart of sailing on the Solent. Racing takes place from Thursday 24th until Saturday 26th July, with registration on Wednesday 23rd.
The J-Cup is the only regatta in the U.K. exclusively for J-Boats and all models are eligible to compete. One-design racing will be available for almost everybody, including the exciting new J/70 class, and a rapidly expanding J/97 fleet. Fans of the brand will also be delighted to see a small number of J/88s out for the first time, following the model's launch at the end of last year. The vast J/109 fleet will no doubt be looking for another close competition after 2013's nail-biting series.
With the event returning to its home turf, competitor numbers are expected to exceed 400. The teams will sail eight races across the three days, with live music and themed suppers available in the event marquee each night. New for 2014, the Club will host a “party on the pier” each afternoon, offering a cash bar and hot snacks for sailors as they come off the water. The final prize-giving will take place in the marquee, with live music keeping the revellers entertained until the wee hours.As ever we are thrilled to have the support of a number of fantastic sponsors this year, including SLAM, North Sails, Grapefruit Graphics, Lombard, Peters & May and Solent Marine Surveys. Harken have also joined us as official hardware supplier of the event. This support means some of the best value entertainment on offer, as well as a mountain of prizes! Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com For more J/Cup Regatta information, please contact Gemma Dunn at email- Gemma@keyyachting.com. J/Boat owners can enter online here.
Les Voiles de St Barth Preview(Gustavia, St Barts)- The Caribbean racing season, which kicked off with the Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Series in mid-January, now heads to the Les Voiles de St. Barth in Gustavia, St. Barth’s main port, on April 14-19.
Now in only its fifth year, Les Voiles de St. Barth has become a key stop on the Caribbean racing calendar, attracting 70 boats from Europe, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Six classes are taking part, the Spinnaker class stands out with no fewer than 35 boats, between 32 and 60 feet in length, that are among the most competitive boats in the Caribbean. They come to St. Barth fully prepared for racing and are often sailed by internationally renowned sailors.
The infinite beauty of the islands offers countless opportunities for technical and tactical race courses for all competitors. The cocktail so elegantly organized by the organizers brings together the delights of yachting and the incomparable assets of the island. This is without any doubt one of the reasons why Les Voiles is successful, as they have really understood and included what seasoned competitors are looking for, bringing together the enjoyment of the sea and the finer side of life ashore.
Several J/Teams will be participating. Top of the totem pole may be Jim Madden’s beautiful grey-blue J/125 STARK RAVING MAD with a strong crew hailing from Newport Beach and San Diego, California. They are sailing in the biggest class in the regatta- the 35 boat Spinnaker Class. Two J/120s are sailing, the old EL OCASO has now been renamed SUNSET CHILD and will be sailed by Marcus Cholerton-Brown. The other custom 120 is JAGUAR skippered by Ben Jelic. The “newest kid on the block” has to be Eddy Chalono’s J/111 J-BOSS, they will be looking forward to the around the island race where they have the ability to surf/plane for extended periods along the eastern and northeaster face of the island. Finally, the J/109 VOILES au FEMININ will be skippered by well-known Frenchwoman Sophie Olivaud, skippering her boat with an all women crew.To get a good feel for the convivial atmosphere at Les Voiles de St. Barth, check out this sailing video here. For more Les Voiles de St Barth sailing information
Race for the Case Regatta Announcement
(Lloyd Harbor, NY)- It’s already officially spring, although you wouldn’t know it in many parts of the northeast United States. Despite more forecasts for cold and rain, the Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club is already in race mode. Enrollment is open for the 2014 Race for the Case! The race will be held May 17 & 18, 2014 in central Long Island Sound.
As has been the tradition since its inception, the Race for the Case event offers one-design and PHRF racing, with a case of rum to be awarded to the overall regatta winner!
Sailing photographers 42Degrees will be on the course taking photos and videos of the action. LHYC will be hosting a post-race party, featuring your fellow anarchist DJ Aly and live video mixing of the day’s video footage from 42Degrees, raffle prizes and of course, rum. The first prize case will be awarded following the conclusion of scoring on May 18th.
While you’re thawing out, check out a little teaser by 42Degrees (https://vimeo.com/89362178) and “like” their Facebook page for updates (https://www.facebook.com/raceforthecase)!
For more Race for the Case sailing information.
Charleston Race Week Preview(Charleston, SC)- From April 10 to 13, the Charleston Harbor Marina & Resort again plays host to one of the best one-design and handicap race weeks in America. Taking place over a four day weekend, an enormous navy of J’s are participating ranging from the sporty J/22s up to the majestic J/122s. Fully 51% of the fleet are J/Teams (147 J’s in a field of 287 boats). Racing takes place on three one-design circles inshore and one PHRF handicap circle offshore.
The weather forecast looks promising, nearly postcard-perfect weather, with winds out of the south from 8-15 kts each day, sunny skies and minimal (for Charleston) currents. It’s no wonder Charleston attracts so many fun-loving teams in late spring, with magnificent beach parties each night, “JumboTron” video highlights of the day’s racing on a massive 20 ft wide by 10 ft high screen, and daily awards with world-class commentary from famous J/24 sailors like Ed Baird (an America’s Cup winner on ALINGHI), it’s a hard program to beat. Plus, rumor has it that a massive “drone strike” on the fleet may be happening each day, with FPV video of teams “up close & personal” as they fly around the race track.
Taking up the challenge on Inshore Circle One just off the picturesque Charleston waterfront are fleets of J/22s, J/24s and J/80s. In the nine boat J/22 fleet, an international cast of characters are participating. From Nassau, Bahamas we find Chris Sands and the QUICK BEAT team sailing against Darcy Fuller’s Canadian team from Tecumseh, Ontario on board PROST. Arrayed against them are a combo of Annapolis, Maryland boats and local Charleston, South Carolina teams, like Reggie Fairchild on FLASHPOINT CHARLESTON, Jay Greenfield on TBD and Arthur Libby on TORQEEDO.
By far the classic one-design in the regatta is the venerable J/24, with twenty-one teams arriving from every point of the compass, the competition will be as “keen” as ever. Perhaps the headliner team may be Mike Ingham (recent J/24 North American Champion) on USA 5443 from Rochester, New York. While Ingham may have an edge on the others, there are plenty of “spoilers” in the crowd that can provide them a challenge, including local hotshots like Jay Adams on BLIND DATE, Alex Bolan on CORE BUMP, David Moffly on DIRTY WHITE BOY and Mike Palazzo on JO MAMMA. Others sure to throw in top scores are Tim Rathbun on MOBILE HOME from Chicago, Illinois and Skip Dieball on RUDIE/ GILL RACE TEAM from The Florida YC in Toledo, Ohio.
In the world of J/80s, thirteen teams are sailing with a number of world-class competitors. In fact, Charleston followed by the Annapolis NOOD are two key events for the teams in their preparations for the J/80 Worlds in Annapolis, MD later this year. Amongst the leaders you’re sure to find the trio of Will & Marie Crump/ Tom Klok sailing R80, John Storck on RUMOR, Bert Carp on ELEVEN, Chris Johnson on DRAGONFLY and Chris & Liz Chadwick on CHURCH KEY.
Over on Inshore Course Two just off James Island YC is the massive fleet of J/70s. At eighty-one total boats, it is by far the largest fleet that has ever sailed in Charleston Race Week. Due to the size of the fleet, Regatta Chairman Randy Draftz felt it would be not only more competitive but more fun and easier for the RC PRO to have 40+ boat starts instead of one gigantic starting line. As a result, the entire fleet of 70s will be “seeded” into four “flights” and with two starts per “set”, each flight will get a chance to race each other every day all weekend.
The J/70 class has not only gotten significantly bigger for this event, it has also become a much more “deeply” talented fleet. Beginning with notable class veterans, you find most of the top five teams at Key West sailing, including winner Tim Healy on HELLY HANSEN, Brian Keane on SAVASANA, Ian Atkins on BOATS.COM and Joel Ronning on CATAPULT. Joining them are current J/70 North American Champion Heather Gregg-Earl & Joe Bardenheier on MUSE; past Etchells 22 World Champion Jud Smith skippering AFRICA from Eastern YC; past J/24 World Champion (4x) Mauricio Santa Cruz from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on BRUSCHETTA; past Newport J/24 Champion Vinnie Pattavina on CARLOS; past J/105 and Farr 40 North American Champion Don Wilson from Chicago, IL sailing CONVEXITY (founder of the Chicago Match Race Center); past Sunfish North American Champion Chuck Millican from Bermuda sailing ELUSIVE; Key West Corinthians winner Rob Britts on HOT MESS from Tampa, FL; current Etchells 22 USA National Champion Jim Cunningham sailing LIFTED; past J/80 World Champion Kerry Klingler skippering MENACE from Cedar Point YC in CT; past College Champion at College of Charleston (e.g. a “local”) Cole Allsopp sailing MOXIE from Annapolis YC; Pacific Coast winner Bennet Greenwald on PERSEVERANCE from San Diego YC; John Brim of offshore Farr 60 RIMA fame sailing RIMETTE from Fishers Island YC; Peter Vessella of Star Championship fame skippering RUNNING WILD from St Francis YC; past J/105 North American Champion Henry Brauer and Will Welles sailing SCAMP from New York YC; past Lightning and Chesapeake Bay Champion John Aras from Annapolis YC sailing SCHOOL’S OUT; past Key West Corinthians winner Dave Franzel sailing SPRING from Boston Sailing Center; and Henry Filter (sailing with “the Moose is Loose” McClintock- champion of everything) on WILD CHILD from Annapolis, MD.
While the action may be pretty hot inshore, it may be even hotter offshore. Heading out the shipping channel past the famous Fort Sumter (sight of the first shot that started the Civil War in America- ordered by a Johnstone relative, no less), we find three PHRF classes loaded with top J teams.
In PHRF A division there are four J/111s and two J/122s that will be fighting “hammer & tong” to claim bragging rights atop the podium. Many familiar faces from Key West will be there, including some class newcomers. Key West Class winner, Rob & Ryan Ruhlman’s J/111 SPACEMAN SPIFF may be leading the charge for the 111s. They’re joined by classmates KINETIC (Rob Stein), John Yonover’s EVONNE.COM/3 from Lake Geneva YC, WI, and Doug Curtiss’s WICKED 2.0 from Buzzards Bay, MA. Leading the J/122 charge for the top will be Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC, winner of just about everything offshore south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Their classmate is Jack Gregg’s J/122 TAHAMURA from Corinthian YC of Philadelphia, PA.
If PHRF A division is going to be a battle, PHRF B class won’t be a “picnic” for anyone. Most of the tops teams in the class are all J’s. The “grand-daddies” are the two J/120s, past Charleston winners like John Keenan’s ILLYRIA from Mt Pleasant, SC (e.g. a real, real local) and Rick Moore’s MOOSE DOWN from Carolina YC. Two other local 35 ft J’s are racing, including Willy Schwenzfeier’s J/35 ARROW and Joe Highsmith’s J/105 DEAD ON ARRIVAL. The “newbies on the block” are the two J/88s debuting in their first ever CRW; Terry McKenna’s DOG PARTY from Prince Edward Island, Canada and Richie Stearn’s HOKEY SMOKE from Chicago YC.
PHRF C division is by no means a “walk in the park” for any J team. While they will predominate, this class has proven to be one of the hardest handicap classes to win due to the “even-ness” of the boats. Past class winner David Pritchard (Mr GILL North America) will be sailing his J/92 AMIGOS from Lake Lanier Sailing Club, a lovely lake north of Atlanta, GA. Giving them a serious run-for-the-money are two classic masthead J/29s, Steve Thurston’s MIGHTY PUFFIN from Bristol, RI and Miles Martschink’s MONGO from Carolina YC. Chasing their tail-feathers around the track will be Robert Key’s J/27 AUDACIOUS from Columbia, SC.
A new feature of the event has been the rapidly growing PHRF Pursuit-style race. Like its renowned brethren in San Francisco (The Three Bridge Fiasco) or Nantucket’s famous FIGAWI Race, the CRW version has been gaining passionate followers quickly- since last years this division alone has grown something like 500%! In Pursuit Spinnaker class, the J/120 EMOCEAN from Charleston YC will be skippered by Bill Hanckel and joining them is the J/40 RAGTIME sailed by Jim Little from Watauga Sailing Club in Kingsport, TN. Pursuit Non-Spin division sees yet another classic J participating, the local J/30 BREAKAWAY sailed by Mark Swata from Mt Pleasant, SC. For more Charleston Race Week sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
This past week saw several great regattas take place around the globe where J/Teams were treated to “champagne sailing” conditions and uber social activity, making for big smiles and happy sailors all around. Starting in Europe, a fleet of J/70s and J/80s participated in the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga in Glucksburg, Germany along the western Baltic Sea. Sixty-one teams from across Germany sailed over a three-day weekend to determine the best sailing clubs in their country- a six regatta series that starts in April and concludes in October back in Hamburg on the beautiful Alster Lake. Southeast across Continental Europe, another fleet of J/80s played host to the Yachting Russia Cup sailed on Lago di Garda, Italy and hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva. The Russian teams enjoyed tremendous match-racing over the weekend. Then, west across Europe to France, J/80 teams in La Trinite sur Mer finished their final training program before preparing for the “official” start of the French sailing season- the eponymous SPI Ouest France in La Trinite. Just across “La Manche”, the Warsash Sailing Club hosted fleets of J/109s, J/111s, J/70s and J/80s along with several J’s sailing IRC handicap in their on-going Brooks Macdonald Warsash Series— it was a challenging weekend for all the crews!Over in the Americas, the St Francis YC hosted “J/Fest West”, the long-running “only J/Boats” event, featuring classic one-designs like the J/24s, J/105s and J/120s, but as well as the “new kids on the block”, the J/70s and the J/111s. The nearly four dozen teams enjoyed simply spectacular sailing conditions all weekend on San Francisco Bay.
Finally, there is a great account and report from the “two Andrews” that have been sailing J/111 #1 DJANGO down under in New Zealand. Recently, they completed the epic double-handed race around New Zealand’s North Island- a journey of 1,200nm!
Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it or upload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Mar 16- Apr 27- Warsash Spring Series- Warsash, EnglandApr 5-6- J/Fest San Francisco- St Francis YC- San Francisco, CA
Apr 10-13- Charleston Race Week (22, 24, 70, 80, PHRF)- Charleston, SC
Apr 17-21- SPI OUEST Regatta- La Trinite-sur-Mer, France
Apr 26-May 3- J/22 World Championship- Deneysville, South Africa
May 2-4- Annapolis NOOD Regatta- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- J/22 North Americans- Annapolis YC- Annapolis, MD
May 16-18- Seattle NOOD Regatta- Seattle, WA
May 24-26- Swiftsure Race- Royal Victoria YC- Victoria, BC, Canada
May 27- Jun 9- Delta Lloyd North Sea Week- Scheveningen, Netherlands
May 28- Jun 1- J/22 Europeans- Cameret-sur-Mer, France
May 29-Jun 2- Italian J/24 Nationals- Tirano, Italy
May 30- Susan Hood Trophy Race- Mississauga, ONT, Canada
May 31- Delta Ditch Run- Stockton Sailing Club- Stockton, CA
Jun 6-8- Chicago NOOD Regatta- Chicago YC- Chicago, IL
Jun 6-9 Norseewoche- Heligoland, Germany
Jun 9-15- Normandy Sailing Week- Le Havre, France
Jun 13-22- Cleveland Race Week- Cleveland, OH
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Kiel YC Wins Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga I23 Teams Qualify for DSBL I & II
(Glucksburg, Germany)- The second annual Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga (DSBL), hosted by Flensburg Sailing Club in Glucksburg, Germany from April 4th to 6th was a resounding success. Sixty-one of the best sailing clubs in Germany sailed in fleets of J/70s and J/80s on an arm of the Baltic Sea directly across from Denmark (see http://bit.ly/1epRk0y). In the end, the team from Kieler YC skippered by Martin Menzner were crowned winners and, therefore, the early leaders in the season-long series. Twenty-three teams in total qualified for the next round of sailing in the DSBL. The weather conditions were challenging for all, with a storm on Friday and medium winds on Saturday and Sunday testing everyone’s skills to their physical and tactical limits.
The event has taken on a massive scale like never before seen in the history of sailing in Germany. The cooperation of the German Sailing Association, the German Offshore Sailing Association HANSA (DHH) and the local host clubs like Flensburg S.C. are providing a fantastic sailing experience for all sailors; young and old alike, women, children and experienced sailors (both professional and amateur). Tellingly, one would not be able to say after this unique weekend, “that there was a better place and a more perfect organization that would have all parties onshore and on the water that they would want to go to," said Joachim Hellmich, a manager of Project DSBL GmbH.Florian Weser, Vice-Chairman of the DSBL, summarized the numbers for the qualifying regatta, “with 61 sailing clubs participating, there were 244 sailors from all over Germany, over 85 volunteer helpers at the FSC and DHH, and 86 races were conducted over three days with 600 exchanges (team switches per boat) between the races. Astounding!”
The format has proven itself over the 2013 season. The suspense and “roller coaster” emotions for the teams continues this year as everyone watches “live” results on “Jumbotrons” from race-to-race, seeing their team members climb or drop in the standings as they cross the finish line.
The five clubs who qualify for the “Premiere League” in the Bundesliga this year, are the Kieler YC, the Bodensee YC Überlingen, the Seglervereinigung Itzehoe, the Segelkameradschaft "Wappen von Bremen" and the Düsseldorf YC.
The KYC commented on their victory in the qualification series, "We are obviously delighted that we are now in the Premiere League here. Our goal was to qualify for the DSBL II Series and, hopefully, make it into the Championship. From now on we need to practice even more to stay atop the standings," said a relieved KYC helmsman Martin Menzner.
"The start of the season was perfect: great organization by the Flensburg Sailing Club and the German Offshore Association HANSA, enthusiastic participants and sailing at the highest level that the league format has provided for the sailors. We look forward to the upcoming season and the start of the first Premier League from 16 to 18 May at the Bavarian Yacht Club on Lake Starnberg," said Oliver Schwall, founder and CEO of the German DSBL Gmbh. Qualifying in the top three for Bundesliga II series were the Segel-Club Bayer Uerdingen, the Hamburg Sailing Club and Munich YC.The first day of qualifying was spectacular. The organizers had to contend with a stormy wind forecast and some boat damage. After the first fourteen races in the Segel-Club Bayer Uerdingen from Krefeld was leading with Lennart Luttkus, Hendrik Coers, Holger Blumenkamp and Thomas Schubert as crew.
After the first grueling day of racing with a lot of crew and boat errors, the second day had very pleasant sailing conditions with moderate winds; good enough in fact to get in 39 races! At this point, it was becoming evident the Kiel YC crew were both sailing confidently and with few mistakes, leading at the end of the day. From that position, the third day of benign sailing conditions enabled the KYC crew to sail away from the series on Sunday. Their crew of Martin Menzner, Mikael Rolfs, Frank Lichte and Julian Ramm are now the “team to beat” in the upcoming series on Lake Starnberg. Sailing photos and commentary on Facebook For more Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information
Gorgeous J/Fest West On the Bay!Fun Sailing For J/24s, J/70s, J/105s, J/111s, J/120s
(San Francisco, CA)- The annual salute to all things “J”, the St Francis YC’s J-Fest got a well needed shot in the arm this year with the addition of the J/111's and J/70's. A staple of the StFYC spring series for decades, the J-Fest originally featured dozens of J24's, J-30's and the then, elite J-35's. The fleet of these boats have lessened in years gone by and the introduction of the J/105's in 1991, the J/120 in 2000 enabled the J-Fest to enjoy a bit of a resurgence. Fast forward to 2014, the addition of the new J-Speedsters, the J/111s and the J/70s, were a welcome new addition to the regatta.
The fleet of forty-eight boats were treated to “beyond glam” conditions. Starting with sunny, cloudless mornings, the StFYC PRO kept the fleet in the cozy confines of the harbor until 11am under harbor postponement. As soon as the first whispers of the sea-breeze wafted in under the Golden Gate Bridge, StFYC PRO John Craig sent the fleet out to the starting line just off Alcatraz Island and the magnificent San Francisco city-front. It is hard to imagine a more fun and challenging race course than having to divine the ins-and-outs of traversing tide-lines and playing wind streaks funneling over the peninsula’s headlands down through San Francisco Bay.
With some ongoing compression in the J/120 fleet underway, DESDEMONA’s former owner, John Wimer, joined forces with Timo Bruck and provided some insight and guidance, propelling TWIST’s stock to new highs in the J-120 division. “The last race was a bit stressful for us after we fouled PEREGRINE, the wind died just as we were about to cross them, so we didn't make the cross, but were able to recover after we took our penalty. John did a great job of keeping us calm, focused, and fast. It was fantastic having him on board with us,” commented Timo Bruck. In the end, it was Steve Madeira’s MISTER MAGOO crew on the “ultimate green sailing machine” that walked off with class honors with an astonishing (for the J/120 class) consistent score of 2-1-1-2-2- for 8 pts. Timo’s TWIST was second in their nail-biter race followed by Dave Halliwill’s PEREGRINE in third.
The BLACKHAWK success continues in the J/105 class, Scooter Simmons with tactician Brent Draney and company held off Jeff Littfin's MOJO by 3 points after 5 races. After starting in the “cellar”, Scooter’s crew rebounded to post an amazing 8-1-1-1-1 for 12 pts. Third was Adam Spiegel’s JAM SESSION.Dorian McKelvy's MAD MEN sailed a tight battle with Roland Vandermeer’s BIG BLAST and Rob Theis’s AEOLUS, in the end, consistency paid off with 1 point victory! It was a very tight battle with these three musketeers. MADMEN’s 1-1-4-1-3 for 10 pts just held off BLAST’s 3-2-2-3-1 for 11 pts. The one “twist” in the regatta was the AEOLUS crew finding their spinnaker wrapped around Anita Shoal Light tower in the second race, having to take a DNF for the experience.
"We are expecting eight J/111's for the Vallejo Race", said Drew Harper who was tugging on lines aboard Roland Vandermeer's BIG BLAST, which had consistently superb results over the weekend especially considering it was their 1st regatta. "We were very pleased with the results of not only our boat but also the turnout of the regatta. Additionally the Bay Area fleet is expected to grow to 10 boats by April 29 as BAD DOG joins the fleet, going to former J-120 owner Dick Swanson, and another J-111 named BLAST is en route from Nova Scotia”."Roland is no slouch at the helm,” says Bill Colombo, who was calling tactics on board BIG BLAST. "Roland has done well on other boats, and his new J/111, just arrived from the Great Lakes where it achieved 3rd in last year's J-111 North Americans. Andy McCormack is running the program and is doing a very good job." Bill is no newby to the J-111 having sailed on Frank Slootman's original INVISIBLE HAND, J-111 hull #4, and sailing in the aforementioned NA's last year and the Verve Cup.
Commented Bill, “We got the J/111 because it is the perfect combination of fun to sail with family and friends and it is a blast to race. It is very agile and quick to respond. It is very easy to sail and still requires a good team to drive fast and hard. The first regatta proved this all and the fleet dynamics and people look great! Andy has sailed with me before and we just threw some friends together to race and it worked well. We still have so much to learn about all the modes of the boat, but not a bad set up for first time out.”
On the J/70 side of the world, they also had many newcomers to their rapidly expanding fleet. Ben Mercer had this to say about their experience, "Friday was a great opportunity to learn more about the boat from Stu Johnstone during Fridays J/70 Clinic. Rig tune, sail trim, and using the winch to keep the boat at a constant level of heel, were all highlighted points as we went through the weekend. Saturday brought on solid "Chamber of Commerce" sailing conditions on the city front in a burgeoning flood. As we learned in the clinic, aggressive mainsail trim and driving is needed to keep the J/70 tracking without making too much leeway so mainsheet trimmers got a workout but the drivers who trimmed their own mains were looking especially tired at the Rum Party. Sunday brought us a chance to relax and mingle on the dock in a postponement till the breeze filled in. It was all about rig tune and using the shifts to get to the current relief on the beach. The biggest takeaway was having a solid team that could all work together because every position has a crucial role on the boat. It was great to see all the J/Boat classes have such a strong showing, new and old designs alike! "Josh Butler was working the strings and calling shots for Mark Nelson's J/70 SUGOI (which literally translates to- ‘terrible, dreadful, terrific, amazing, great, or wonderful’ depending on its context). "I think conditions were great for the J/70's and overall the Bay is a great place to sail them. The competition level is already high and there is plenty of room for growth in the fleet. The nice thing about the J/70 is a family can race them, the boat handles very well upwind and pops up onto a plane off-wind quite nicely.”
"The J-70s will add six boats to the 15 boat fleet very soon," says Drew Harper, who is working with Sail California. "Those six boats should sell at the Strictly Sail Show,” Drew adds.
The J/70 called 1FA, sailed by Scott Sellers and Geoff McDonald are in familiar territory in the J/70 fleet- they took delivery the day before the regatta of their brand new boat. "Norm Davant from Sail California helped us tune the boat on Friday when we took delivery, and we were ready to sail on Saturday,” said Scott. He continued, “It is a pretty easy boat to sail so there weren't a lot of tricks. Our crew has a lot of miles sailing together in small keelboats on the City Front so despite being a new boat for us, we felt we were playing a game that we have played before. Just like with any boat on the City Front in 15 to 20 knots of breeze, keeping the boat flat and tracking consistently through the puffs is the key to speed. Everyone in the fleet is fairly new to the boat so I am sure techniques will be refined and the class will get more competitive as more people enter the class and spend more time in the boats. The momentum in the class nationally and locally is undeniable. I expect 30+ boats on the Bay in the next 2 years."
Behind the Sellers/McDonald team on 1FA, in second place was Peter Cameron’s much improved team on USA 29 “PRIME NUMBER”. And, sailing equally consistently in the top three was Chris Kostanecki’s JENNIFER taking the bronze for the J/70 class.On the J/24 front Michael Whitfield's TMC RACING sailed a near perfect regatta, with 4 aces and a deuce, to claim victory in the six boat fleet. Just behind them was a titanic duel for second. After the dust settled, it was Darren Cumming’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR that took the tie-breaker over Alex Schultink’s FLY BY NIGHT. The UPROAR gang amassed a 2-2-2-4-5 to salvage victory from the jaws of defeat on the last day. The FLY BY NIGHT’ers took five straight 3rds to settle for, guess what(?), third place overall. Sailing photo credits- Erik Simonson Sailing photos credits- Chris Ray For more J/Fest sailing information
Blustery Cold Conditions @ Warsash IV(Warsash, England)- An exhilarating day’s racing was completed for the fourth gathering of the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series on 6th April 2014. Competitors come from near and far for this early season contest and journeying through the driving rain to their boats early on Sunday morning, the sailors might well have been thinking an indoor sport could have been a better choice. During the racing however the visibility cleared, the deluge stopped giving way to glimpses of warm sunshine.
The weather forecast had suggested a brisk south-westerly in the 14 to 20 knot range but with, unusually, the possibility of double that in the gusts. The Black Group committee boat set up station at Bart’s Bash buoy just above the North Channel. Courses were set, largely cross-tide, cascading east with windward legs towards the Isle of Wight shore, giving protection from the heavier seas building up from the Western Solent. Nonetheless, flag “Yankee” was hoisted requiring life jackets to be worn. IRC1 and IRC2 shared a course and completed 15 miles. J/109 and IRC3 had a similar designed circuit of 12.5 miles. Tacticians were kept busy at times hugging the shallower water to avoid the worst of the rising tide on windward legs. Given the strong winds, there was many a spinnaker trawled in the water. Warsash Sailing Club member Iain Mcluckie, the Club’s photographer, multi-tasked to rescue several boats. There was close racing in all classes with many boats nip-and-tuck on the beats- altogether an exhausting but rewarding day’s racing.
In IRC1 the J/111 J-DREAM sailed by David and Kirsty Apthorp holds a five point class lead in the Series. Trailing them in second for the series is Simon Boadle’s MUNKENBECK and in third is Charles Ivill’s team on ETB TYRES- JUST LIKE THAT!
IRC 3 saw the return of the J/97 INDULJENCE sailed by Nick and Adam Munday. Reveling in the breezy conditions, their team took a second to climb back into sixth overall, counting a DNS in race 3. When it’s all said and done, it looks likely the INDULJENCE team make take over the series lead once “discard” races are factored into the equation.
IRC4 had a separate start on the White Group line and true to form produced a fourth different winner in four races. This week it was David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO which gained a good lead and now lies in second, just one point back for the series lead!
In the J/109s Iain Mackinnon’s TIGH SOLIUS Soluis II, out for the first time, took first place by 10 seconds from JUST SO (David McGough). When a discard cuts in next time, there could be changes in the leadership. At this time, the series lead is based on a tie-breaker! The action has been “hotting up” at the top of the 109 class. While Paul Griffiths’s JAGERBOMB is still the series leader, David Mcleman’s crew on OFFBEAT have sailed consistently well to vie for the lead- both boats are tied at nine pts each. Third is Marcus Wilson’s RED ARROW team from the Royal Air Force Sailing Club.The White Group racing area was closer to the Meon shore. It was a blustery day and misty initially; sometimes the committee boat could make out the shape of the Isle of Wight, at other times they were pushed to see the windward mark. Although the visibility improved the wind was on the edge of 25 knots so again life jackets needed to be worn.
The forecast doubtless resulted in some sportsboat skippers deciding to stay ashore. With racing off the lee shore, there was definitely a more cautious approach to the leeward mark, many opting for an early but safe drop, which at times led to changes of position as later boats threw caution to the wind and gained places with good boat handling and mark rounding. As expected, given the conditions several boats took the opportunity to “rinse their spinnakers”.The J/80s had competitive starts with the fleet on the line and individual recalls in both races as boats pushed that little bit too hard. In the first, BETTY (Jon Powell) recovered to win. Several boats were not able to finish. JENGA 8 (Andrew Barraclough), out for the first time, won in the J/70s ahead of JUST4PLAY (Simon Cavey).
The two-lap second race saw the wind building to 25 knots and the visibility closed in again. There were plenty more spinnaker incidents. This time JOYRIDE (Ian Wilson) beat JENGA 8 in the J/70s. BETTY again needed to return after starting early and took second place leaving the win to BOYSTEROUS (Ali Hall). With the wind at 30 knots, Peter Knight decided to call it a day after two hard races. It had been a white knuckle ride all round for everyone.
Tired but elated sailors gathered at Warsash Sailing Club after racing, well deserving the free beer! Tracey Gray, Investment Manager from Brooks Macdonald, presented the weekly champagne prizes to class winners and Douglas Struth of the J/80 DSP won the jacket donated by SLAM UK. Next week the pace hots up, with the start of the Spring Championship on 12th-13th April. 80 boats are already entered and more are welcome in all classes. The second weekend of the Spring Championship follows on 26th-27th April. There will be a party at Warsash Sailing Club on the two Saturday nights (12th and 26th April) with live music, food and a friendly bar available. The Spring Series continues on 13th April, then takes a break over the Easter holidays before reconvening for the grand finale on 27th April. For more Warsash Spring series sailing information
Latvia Wins Yachting Russia Cup(Lago di Garda, Italy)- One of the oldest yacht clubs in Europe is the Fraglia Vela Riva, located on the picturesque northern shores of Lago di Garda in Italy. Last week, FVR hosted the ninth edition of the "Yachting Russia Cup" for the Russian-speaking yachting community. Competition was held on International J/80 one-design sportsboats in a format of match races for all participating teams.
Nearly 60 athletes from Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, Germany and Italy were divided into 11 teams. According to rules of the Cup each skipper has the right to choose from all participants one crew member, then the rest of the crew is formed by drawing from a lottery (e.g. pulling chits out of a hat with people’s names on them). With such a method of defining the crew, it forces each team to be engaged in team organization, training and working together as a unit. As a result, the team that works well together in such a short period of time and makes the least number of mistakes wins! It is a fun format that leads to great camaraderies and fun parties in the evening!
The first three days were not typical for Lake Garda- heavy overcast skies and a light, variable breeze from every wind direction. But, thanks to the accurate and harmonious work of the race committee, the sailors managed to participate in 43 matches to determine the top four crews. Then, the semifinal meetings were held and participants of the championship and consolation finals were defined.
Since the beginning of the event, there has been a significant increase in the skill of the participants. Today, there are very aggressive tactics immediately after entering the starting zone, using every form of obstacles, rules, dial-ups, and so forth to gain advantage. The racing is so good, it’s already difficult to call this match racing event a competition amongst “amateurs”.
On the last racing day, the weather was typical for the lake- in the morning the sun shined brightly and a nice wind blew down the lake. Until lunch, the northerly “adabatic” winds blew from the north at 10-15 kts, enough to conclude the semifinal matches. Then, during lunchtime, the wind died and changed into the south and filled at at 15-20 kts gusting to 25 kts. It was an intense fight for the finalists, the skilled helmsmen and crews were in a hard-fought battle at the start and all the way around the race course. Triumphant after a long, hard race was Sergey Pervushkin from Riga, Latvia on the Baltic Sea. Taking second after their loss was Sergey Ezhikov from Kaliningrad, Russia. In the “repechage finals”, it was Dmitry Zaritsky from Kaliningrad, Russia taking the win to score third for the series over Pavel Minayev from Samara, Russia.
The next Yachting Russia Cup will take place in Kaliningrad, Russia from July 31 to August 3, 2014. Thanks for the contribution from Dmitry Zaritsky and for the sailing photos credits- Maria Guryeva. Find more photos here on Facebook- Yachting Russia For more Yachting Russia Cup sailing information
Challenge J/80 La Trinité Report
(La Trinite sur Mer, France)- In their final preparations for participating in the grand regatta that marks the beginning of the French summer sailing season- SPI Ouest France- the J/80s held the last of their training/ regatta sessions in La Trinite. The sixteen participants enjoyed beautiful weather for the second straight event in a row, 8-15 kts winds from the southwest virtually all weekend. Said Arnaud Walter, “it looks like the crews are sharp and ready to go!”
On Saturday, there were four races sailed in the SSW winds that produced excellent, closely matched racing between all the teams. On Sunday, it was more practice starts on a small line with fast 3 minute starting sequences. Part of the practice was learning how to arrive early on the line, stop, manage speed and recovery and then go. In short, it was a great weekend for practice and learning how to sail smarter and faster.
A big “Thank You” to all participants and to Eric Brezellec and Aymeric Belloir for their coaching expertise. Plus, the J/80 Class France is most thankful to all their partners who “spoiled” the crews with great support and organization, including Casino Partouche, Zing Cafe, Ports Morbihan, La Plancha Restaurant, L’Etage Bistro, Plisson and Square. Until next time at SPI Ouest! Thanks for contribution from Arnaud Walter at ARNO SKIPPER/ http://www.Sport-Boat-Regatta.com
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
* The J/111 DJANGO has been sailing for over the past year “down under” in Auckland, NZ. Sailed by her new owner Andrew Reid and often sailed with Doyle Sails NZ sailmaker Andrew Pilcher aboard, they’ve had some great experiences and successes in the offshore world. Here is some of their commentary from the J/111 thread on Sailing Anarchy (amusing reading!):“The SSANZ B&G SIMRAD two handed series is hugely popular here in Auckland - with around 150 entries. Race 1 (60 nms around the Hauraki Gulf) was sailed in variable conditions, 0-17 kts TWS from a bunch of different directions. After a nice start, Team Django kept it all together to take the Division 1 handicap win.”
You can experience what it’s like to sail their J/111 here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIEizzy_OnQ
Later in November, J/111 #1 Django completed the New Zealand Round North Island race double-handed. Four legs, approximately 1,000 nautical miles total (you can see the results here- http://www.ssanz.co.nz). Congratulations to the two Andrews!
Here’s their report- “It was an amazing race, with a bit too much upwind for our liking (!) but we managed the 7th fastest total elapsed time, 5th overall on handicap, 2nd in Division and a Division win on Leg 2. This leg was the fun one, from Mangonui in Northland, around NZ's two northern Capes (well, 3 actually), then a fast ride down the West Coast, high speeds at night, oil rigs, seismic ships towing 4.5km arrays, heaps of dolphin action, almost becalmed in NZ's notoriously stormy Cook Strait, 5 kts tides across to Wellington (in our favour, luckily), and a match race to the finish! The same 5 boats we diced with at North Cape were in a bunch that finished within 10 minutes of each other 500 miles later in Wellington. Unbelievable. This race is a true adventure, and uber competitive. Everyone is relentless - short-handed sailing is highly addictive and heaps of fun. Apart from the lack of sleep, the degree of difficulty of every maneuver being tripled and the lack of sleep. Hats off to all the crews! Our next distance race will be from Auckland to Fiji in June 2014. Fully crewed, this one, so should feel quite luxurious being able to sleep for up to three hours at a stretch! A couple of photos attached, one three sailing at the start in Auckland, and the second two sailing with the mini Zero off Cape Egmont on the way to Wellington.”And, regards the NZ SSANZ Round North Island Two-Handed race, here is a summary from Andy Pilcher of Doyle sails- AP makes up one-half of the unbreakable J/111 Django crew! Said Andy:
"Finished! Well, that was epic, in every sense of the word. The final leg was, well, pretty crappy for the most part. If I said that Leg 3 was the longest 200 miles I'd ever done, then Leg 4 was the longest 340 miles I've ever done. I honestly think that you could not have designed a race to be more upwind, especially given the number of corners we turned, only to find the wind had bent around the corner just before we arrived there!
To summarize, we left Napier heading E/NE to get out of the Hawkes Bay. Then veered left to head N/E towards East Cape.
From there, another left turn to head across the Bay of Plenty towards Cape Colville, bearing N/W, before the final left turn heading S/W into a 35- 40kt wind against tide maelstrom, for the "dash" back into Auckland.
Sure enough, there to greet us at every turn was a windshift with our name on it, saying "Hey lads, welcome to the corner, your next leg will be upwind".
It was not entirely unexpected, however. The weather people had been predicting this type of Leg well in advance, just as they'd predicted Leg 3 would be entirely upwind. Why is it that the crap weather forecast's are always the most accurate??
Anyway, as with the previous leg, we surprised ourselves with a better than expected performance, and were delighted with our finish in the morning.
I need a bit of time to get my head around it, but am rapt to have been able to do this race, which was a real adventure, and just worth it to have simply completed a circumnavigation of the North Island and see this incredible country of ours from a unique angle.
Hats off to Andrew Reid for his impeccable preparation of the boat, where we sailed over 1,200nm and didn't break so much as a shackle. It's been a pleasure and a privilege. For the final time - on this journey anyway - "Django Out”.
* Anthony Sandberg, skipper, guru, storyteller and educator, host of weekly sailing "salons," founder of a top sailing school in the East Bay of San Francisco Bay, and adventure travel leader, believes that maneuvering a boat through rough seas is a metaphor for learning to sail through life. His Olympic Circle Sailing Club has a huge fleet of J/24s, J/105s and so forth to teach people the ways of life on the sea.Sandberg is now "adopting" an inner-city charter high school in Oakland with the idea of getting all of the students out on San Francisco Bay.
Q: You founded the Olympic Circle Sailing Club, which has 50 boats and 80 employees. Over the years, more than 25,000 people have learned to sail there. Now you're adopting the Envision Academy of Arts & Technology?
A: I met this young woman, Kirsten Grimm, Envision's principal, and I was amazed by her. Oakland has a dropout rate of something like 50 percent, and Grimm had 100 percent of her seniors accepted at college last year. I've committed to getting Envision's students sailing this year as a first step toward creating a sailing team at the school. My evil plan is that within two to three years, these young people will be competing with private schools and prep school kids - and winning.
Q: How will this be funded?
A: I'll get funding, but I can't be held up by that. My boat owners (at the Olympic Circle Sailing Club) are saying, "You can use my boat for free." I went to my 45 instructors and they are saying, "Sure, count on me." I'm going to ask members to put in $25 each. And I'm going to raise money. The program is going to be called East, for Envision Academy Sailing Team.Q: How will this enhance the students' lives?
A: I think fun is one of the biggest things. It's something more than cold hard streets. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from sports. This will be a healthy thing for them to do. If they're in a sailing gang, they're just pushing water around. And if they get out and want to know how to go faster, or where the bay comes from, there are lessons in that. They can learn to sail and then offer their skills up anywhere.
Q: Tell me about some of your recent salons on San Francisco Bay, in terms of the mix of people.
A: I had David Blume making ethanol out of any organic material. I had a master martial artist who teaches athletes to use the mechanics of the body. I had Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang, who make art out of the plastic pollution they've gathered along a beach in Point Reyes. I had a former Citibank executive who left to become a minister.
Q: You also run an adventure travel program four months out of the year. What trips stand out?
A: In October, I went to Africa. I had a Land Rover with a tent on top, and I set out to drive across Namibia. I did a trek over the Andes, on a brand new trail to Machu Picchu. At the end of last year, I had a very personal trip to Costa Rica for health and rejuvenation. I was turning 65 and I said, "What have I done with my 65 years? What do I really want to do?"
Q: What did you learn?A: I spent eight weeks there, no e-mail, no distractions. I've come back even happier and with more clarity. I realized that 80 percent of the stuff I do is noise. I cut it out. I was involved with 24 nonprofits last year. I want to make a difference, but that's too many. Now it's three nonprofits. I was out at events five or six nights a week. Now it's two. Less is more. Saying no is good.
Q: How does the sailing program at Envision Academy play into your enhanced clarity?
A: I'm going to take this one school and get every kid on the water. Every kid will get sailing lessons. Those who want to become a part of a racing team, I can make that happen. I'll have these kids racing against the richest kids in the country. “Thanks” for contribution from Julian Guthrie- a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
* Eight Bells: Bob ‘Buddha’ Billingham passed away following a lengthy illness on March 30, 2014 at home in Grass Valley, California. He was 56 years of age.Bob had graduated from Amherst College in 1979 with degrees in Geology and English. Born in England, he immigrated to the United States when he was five years old with his parents, who were professors at Stanford University.
Bob had an accomplished sailing track record which included representing the United States at the 1988 Olympics, winning the Silver medal in the Soling Class with John Kostecki and Will Baylis. Bob is a five-time World Champion in Solings, Etchells, J/24s and Maxis. Bob had also served on the management side of the US Olympic Team for 20 years.
Bob’s involvement in the America’s Cup included crewing on the 1992 America’s Cup winning team America3, and then roles as Chief Operating Officer for Paul Cayard at AmericaOne 2000 and Artemis Racing. Prior to the 34th America’s Cup, Bob worked for the America’s Cup event organizers in San Francisco, preparing facilities to host America’s Cup racing in 2012 and 2013.
“The last time I saw Bob, he was setting up to do America’s Cup commentary in a setting that, as Project Manager, he had orchestrated,” noted yachting journalist Kimball Livingston. “He showed no sign of the cancer or the treatments that had been in his foreground for years, and I never heard a word out of his own mouth about them. Nothing slowed Bob down until he hit the wall, and he hit the wall fast forward. In 2013, I heard a friend say that the America’s Cup was keeping him alive – to fill its demands – but Bob disappeared over the winter, and I started hearing of a fast slide, not to be talked about openly. Bob was never afraid of having a public presence, as long as it wasn’t ‘about’ him.”
When not involved with sailing projects, Bob had built a successful project management career overseeing design and construction of large projects from residential and office high-rise buildings to high end custom homes.
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.
* 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.
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The St Thomas YC is again to be commended for hosting another fun event with great racing. Indeed, it lived up to its billing as the "Crown Jewel of the Caribbean”. How did it all go down for the StTYC RC team and the sailors? Here’s a brief recap for each day below:
As some sailors described the conditions, “It was just rough and windy at the top mark in Pillsbury Sound where the currents met and there were huge faces on the waves.” JP Montegut, Commodore of host St. Thomas Yacht Club.Others explained, “It was challenging with strong and shifty winds. Yet, the races were very tight and that is what’s fun.”
* Stephanie Roble has been busy over the past year, working her way up to the 6th ranked spot in ISAF’s Women’s Match Racing standings and 54th in the Open list in her run to try to conquer the WIMRS; all this as she finished up a multi-year stint helping to run the Chicago Match Race Program. Steph has also been active sailing J/22s, J/24s and J/70s, and recently sailed in the IC-24 (the modded J/24) fleet in the St Thomas Invitational Regatta. Here’s her interview with Sailing Anarchy:
SR: Obviously, being in the islands in the middle of winter isn’t bad! It’s 85 degrees everyday and the trade winds are in full force right now. Our forecast for the week is 15-20 knots every day and some possible rain showers. Can you really beat that? Well, St. Thomas does, because in addition to the great sailing, the STYC is just so chill. You come in from the water to a huge beach covered with palm trees, sponsor flags, and a stage for the band right on the water, the breeze blowing right on the club from the topaz water…have I painted the picture yet? All around, a fantastic vibe.