Charleston Race Week Preview(Charleston, SC)- As you reflect back on the humble beginnings of Charleston Race Week (CRW) back in 1969, no one could ever imagine that summertime regatta back then would become one of the largest regattas in the USA. Various “race weeks” held that title for a while, such as Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week or even Key West Race Week at its peak. Nevertheless, when the organizers of CRW changed the date to a late spring event to capture both offshore and one-design sailors moving their boats back north for the summer that it would ever become what it is today.
The 2016 edition of CRW will see teams participating from at least fifteen states and several nations in the 257-boat fleet, of which 136 are J/Teams (53% of the total!). The rapid ascension of the J/70 class from zero to a 100mph in this particular event is startling. The very first year the class was invited in 2013, the J/70 immediately eclipsed all other one-design classes before it as the largest class on the water with 55 boats.
As for how things are looking for each one of the J classes, here’s a quick breakdown of what could be taking place over the three-day event that has a very windy forecast for all three days- basically a northeaster with 10-30 kt winds!
Like the two previous regattas, the seventy-six boat J/70 fleet will be split into four “flights” in order to have a manageable starting line along the sandy southern shore of the harbor. Many top teams from past CRW’s will be in attendance and hoping their “local knowledge” will again help them in the powerful currents and shifty winds inside the harbor. Last year’s winner, Julia Fernandez will be back again with FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO. They will be chased hard by teams like Jack Franco’s 3 BALL JT from Houston, TX; Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING from Dallas, TX, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT from Wayzata, MN, Rob Britts’ HOT MESS from St Petersburg, FL, Dan & Gannon Troutman’s PIED PIPER from Fishing Bay, VA, Marty Mckenna’s RARITY from Youngstown, NY, Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND from Annapolis, MD, John Brim’s RIMETTE from Fishers Island, NY, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA from Beverly, MA, Will Welles’ SCAMP from Newport, RI, Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE from Fort Worth, TX, and John Baxter’s TEAM VINEYARD VINES from Riverside, CT. The foreign J/70 teams are beginning to ramp up their efforts for practice prior to the J/70 World Championship in San Francisco, CA this September. In addition to the FLOJITO crew from Mexico, the Chilean J/70 National Champion will be sailing their first American event, Per Von Appen on BLACK SAILS with his crew from Santiago, Chile. The Brazilians will be well represented with 4-time J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz and his crew from Rio de Janeiro on BRUSCHETTA. Others include Chuck Millican’s ELUSIVE from Bermuda; Eivind Astrup’s NORWEGIAN STEAM from Oslo, Norway; and Peter Cunningham’s POWERPLAY RACING from Cayman Islands Sailing Club. The Canadian teams include Kim Gibson on CAN 610 from Fredericton, New Brunswick; Allan McKearney on JOYRIDIN’ from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; and Rich Jones’s MAVERICK from Royal Hamilton YC in Ontario.
The Corinthians J/70 division has a number of good crews in their thirteen-boat fleet with teams like B-SQUARED (brothers Elliott), 20/20 (John Arendshorst), HOT MESS (Rob Britts); GEMINI (Blane Shea); and INSTANT KARMA (David Betts).
Six J/22s will on the same racecourse as the J/24s and J/80s right off the beautiful Charleston city waterfront. There are a few ringers in the mix, including Taylor Lutz from Lakewood YC in Houston, TX sailing SYZGY. Dan Reasoner is back with his crew from Nockamixon Sailing Club on LOS TRES BIGOTES and the WARRIOR SAILNG TEAM is fielding a team led by Sammy Lugo!
Nineteen J/24s will have their hands full taking on class leader Carter White from Portland, Maine sailing his SEA BAGS SAILING TEAM. Eleven of those teams are all from the greater Charleston region, including Mike Palazzo’s JO MAMMA, Dan Rogge’s MATADORA and Tommy Smith’s PUFF DADDY. Others in the hunt should be Chris Sheldon’s INVICTUS from Newport, RI, Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS from Lloyd Harbor, NY and Chris Stone’s VELOCIDAD.Twelve J/80s are sailing this year and it’s a nice fleet, with both new faces and veterans of the class looking forward to a spring-time dash around the cans. A large contingent of Annapolis and Chesapeake Bay sailors will surely put their stamp on the regatta, with familiar names like Ken Mangano’s MANGO, Chris Johnson’s DRAGONFLY and Vince Kalish’s WHITE LIGHTNIN. The Boston/ Buzzards Bay group is also well-represented with Jack Gierhart’s AIGER, Greg Packard’s PLAN B and Tom Denny’s WARRIOR. Now living in San Francisco Bay, but a veteran of the J/80 battles in Key West and major events is Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS (note- they were Key West Race Week ORC Class winners against a fleet of new Farr 280s!!).
Offshore PHRF handicap and one-design racing will be taking place on either side (north and south) of the Charleston Harbor entrance channel. In the six boat J/111 class, there are several World’s level teams that will make the fight for the top three a tough one and promises very close racing. Four of the top five from Key West Race Week are sailing, including the winner Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY from San Francisco, Rob Ruhlman’s SPACEMAN SPIFF from Cleveland, Bill Smith’s WOOTON from Bay Harbor, and Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY from Annapolis. Four of the six J/88s racing Charleston all had great racing in Key West, too. The top two teams there are sailing- Mike Bruno’s WINGS from American YC and Iris Vogel’s DEVIATION from Huguenot YC. The 2015 J/88 winner at Key West, Rob Butler’s TOUCH2PLAY RACING from Collingwood, Ontario, is determined to crack one of the top slots on the podium as well two other teams with updated programs- Doug McKeige’s JAZZ from American YC and Joe & Jeff Pawlowski’s EASY EIGHTS from Youngstown YC.
Another amazing duel is about to take place in the world of PHRF A handicap racing. Though there are seven boats in their division, don’t be surprised to see past CRW winner, Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK be engaged in a fight to the finish at the top of the leaderboard with a sistership- Paul Milo’s Annapolis-Newport race-winning ORION from Virginia.
The twelve-boat PHRF B class is a hard one to figure out; particularly since the ratings appear fair and it is truly anyone’s guess of the final outcome. Seven J/Teams that cover the range of J/Boats history are partaking. For starters, there is Willy Schwenzfeier’s J/35 ARROW, a boat that will love the heavy air forecast for the weekend. Then, there are two J/120s that will also enjoy the big breeze- John Keenan’s ILLYRIA and Rick Moore’s MOOSE DOWN. Also looking forward to fresh conditions are three J/105s- Bob Scribner’s JOYRIDE, Fred Martschink’s RUMFRONT and Miles Martschink’s SKIMMER. However, hoping for the light to moderate part of the range will be Mark DeLoach’s J/36 SOUL!
For the unfortunate souls in the five boat PHRF D class, they will have to face, yet again, the almighty J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN, Steve Thurston’s incredibly fast crew from Bristol, RI.
Finally, there is a very fun Pursuit Race that takes place on Saturday morning. It’s more like a Charleston Harbor cruise where you get to see all the sites along the famous historical coastline- like Fort Sumter- notable for the “shot heard round the world” that started America’s infamous Civil War! In the six boat Spin 1 Division are the J/120 EMOCEAN (Bill Hanckel, the J/40 RAGTIME (Jim Little), and the J/130 SCEPTRE (Bob Musor). The nine boat Spin 2 Division has the
J/27 AUDACIOUS (Robert Key). And, the massive eighteen-boat Non-Spin division will have to contend with the J/30 LAS BRISAS (Mark Swatta). For more Charleston Race Week sailing information
Detroit’s First J/70 Fleet Rocking!(Detroit, MI)- As J/70 fleets continue to form around the country, Detroit is jumping on the bandwagon in a big way! Fleet 26 is being formalized in Detroit, Michigan on Lake St Clair, with around 18 boats, 13 of which are new and sold as a fleet package by Port Sanilac Marina. A big “Thanks” goes to Wally Cross from Ullman Sails and Grosse Pointe YC for spearheading this effort over the last 6-9 months!
With a passion for expanding sailing in the Detroit area, Jason Geisz and Wally Cross have pushed hard to get as many J/70’s on the starting line in the fleet’s inaugural regatta, the Bayview One Design (BOD) Regatta on the first weekend in June. The whole Detroit sailing community has been working hard to make the BOD experience awesome!
The J/70’s will be racing their own course right off Grosse Pointe YC. After racing each day, the GPYC will be hosting the J/70 class, with a “debrief session” sponsored by “Dragonmead” microbrew (yes, a “kegger” each day!).
The other festivities will be held in the evenings at their sister club- Bayview Yacht Club. Socially it will be a ball. The GPYC/ BYC sailors have also lined up some housing with various fleet owners and other local sailors so the out-of-town participants may have a place to stay if they don’t prefer a hotel in Detroit or Roseville.
Although the local J/70 Detroit website is not up and running yet, the Detroit J/70 Fleet President, Jason Geisz, welcomes all to bring their boats and get registered for the Bayview One Design Regatta on June 3rd to 5th here- http://goo.gl/K1xVjP. Any questions can be directed to Jason Geisz, at (248) 840-3231. As Jason proclaimed, “Let’s turn Lake St. Clair into Lake St. 70! See you all soon, we hope!”
J/88 Northeast Circuit Update(Rye, New York)- The J/88 family speedster continues to attract a tremendous amount of interest and is growing in momentum as a one-design class, both in the Great Lakes as well as in the Northeast (note- if you can sail and launch at Etchells 22, you can launch a J/88!). After enjoying both fantastic offshore success and spirited one-design racing in Key West Race Week, the J/88 owners in the northeast plan to participate in the following regattas this summer, beginning in late April and ending in the J/88 North Americans in Western Long Island Sound.
- Apr 23-24- American YC Spring Series, Rye, NY
- Apr 30-May 1- American YC Spring Series, Rye, NY
- Jun 4-5- Cedar Point One Design Regatta- Cedar Point, CT
- Jun 11-12- NYYC Annual Regatta, Newport, RI
- Jul 13-16- Rolex NYYC Race Week, Newport, RI
- Jul 23-24- J/88 Great Lakes Champs, Youngstown Yacht Club, NY
- Aug 13-14- J/Fest New England, Bristol, RI
- Sep 24-25- American YC Fall Series– Rye, NY- J/88 NA’s tune-up event
- Sep 30- Oct 2- J/88 North Americans – American Yacht Club, Rye, NY
J/Fest San Francisco Preview(San Francisco, CA)- The fleet of thirty-eight J’s are looking forward to the annual J/Fest Regatta on San Francisco Bay, hosted by St Francis YC at their beautiful waterfront location; one of the world’s nicest places to enjoy spectacular sunsets framed by the famous Golden Gate Bridge. The J fleets on the Bay have continued to expand (soon the J/88!), with fun and frolic for 24s, 70s, 105s, 111s, and 120s. Imagine this 3D vision, the StFYC starting line is between their famous waterfront bar and a yellow ball just 300 yards offshore. It simply does not get any better than that for “stadium sailing”. While the rest of the world is just beginning to discover the merits of that experience, StFYC sailors and their friends across the Bay (and the R.O.W.) have enjoyed it for decades! The entire J/Fest Regatta is taking place with starts in front of the club and courses that circle around between the infamous Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge with finishes just nanometers off StFYC!
The largest class in the event will be the seventeen-boat J/105 class, with many of its legendary class stalwarts participating along with some fresh faces in the class. Expect to see “ye olde guard” like Shannon Ryan/ Rolf Kaiser’s DONKEY JACK, Bruce Stone & Nicole Breault’s ARBITRAGE, Ryan Simmons’ BLACKHAWK, and Phil Laby’s GODOT, somewhere at the top of the leaderboard.
The J/70s have a nice turnout. Expect to see newcomers like Tracy Usher’s CHRISTINE ROBIN competing for class honors against Bay veterans like Justin Kromelow’s LOOSE LUCY, Peter Cameron’s PRIME NUMBER, Chris Kostanecki’s JENNIFER and John Brigden/ Chris Snow’s COOL STORY BRO.
The triumvirate of top J/111s will certainly have a fun weekend between Richard Swanson’s BAD DOG, Nesrin Basoz’s SWIFT NESS and Gorkem Ozcelebi’s DOUBLE DIGIT. Likewise, the J/120s will have yet another donnybrook between the protagonists- PEREGRINE (Halliwill/ O’Callaghan/ Lacey), KOOKABURRA (Grennan & Grennan & Associates), TWIST (Timo Bruck), CHANCE (Barry Lewis) and SENOR MAGOO (Stevie Madeira).
For the J/24s, what will it be this time?? The EVIL OCTOPUS (Jasper Van Vliet) over the FERAL ROOSTER (Paul van Ravenswaay)? Or, will it be Darren Cumming’s DOWNTOWN UPROAR crew telling their skipper to SHUT UP & DRIVE (Val Lulevich) or take FLIGHT (Randall Rasicot). Hah! No matter what, this gang always has fun! :0 For more J/Fest San Francisco sailing information
J/80 Growth Continues in China(Xiamen, China)- With over 100 J/80s already sailing in China, interest in the class is stronger than ever. The recent Shanghai Boat Show (April 7-10) brought current J/80 sailors and prospective owners together checking out the latest boat from Red Dragon Yachts, the J/Boats licensee for Asia.
"We're booked on orders for the next five months," said Liu Hong Yan, General manager at Red Dragon. She added, "Chinese sailors love the J/80 for the same reasons it's been successful elsewhere. It's a terrific all-around boat for training, daysailing and one-design racing, and a perfect fit for the rapidly growing Chinese sailing market." For more J/80 China sailing information, please contact Jim Johnstone- J/China- jimjboats@gmail.com.
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
It has been busy Down Under over the past few weeks. The report from Australia shows the J/70 fleet having a lot of fun in Sydney. Then, in the offshore world the J/97, J/111s and J/122s from Perth/Freemantle on the west coast to Melbourne & Sydney on the southeast coast are collecting a lot of silverware and pickle dishes for their trophy rooms.In Europe, the J/24s in Italy completed the winter series in most fleets and they are now sailing the first part of their 2016 National Series off Anzio-Nettuno, south of Rome. Off to the east on the Black Sea, the Russian Sailing Federation held their first J/70 Sailing League regatta off Sochi.
In the western parts of Europe and the British Isles, the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series had their first warmish weekend of sailing on the Solent for fleets of J/70s, J/80s, J/109s and the IRC handicap world for J/92, J/97, J/111, and J/122.
Finally, taking place this week is the Les Voiles de St Barth down in the Caribbean, with J/105s, J/109, J/111, J/120 and J/122 enjoying the more sybaritic side of sailing off an idyllic little island.
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:
Apr 11-16- Les Voiles de St Barth- Gustavia, St BarthApr 16-17- J/Fest San Francisco- San Francisco, CA
Apr 16-19- Charleston Race Week– Charleston, SC
Apr 23-29- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
Apr 29-May 1- Annapolis NOOD– Annapolis, MD
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Australia Hopping Mad About J’s!(Sydney, Australia)- It’s no secret that Australia has produced many good sailors over time, virtually all of them having grown out of strong one-design sailing programs- from dinghies to keelboats. For decades, at the core of that development from dinghies into offshore boats has been the J/24. It is rare for a top sailor from Australia to not have cut his/her teeth on a J/24 in national or world competition. In recent years, the J/24 class in Australia continues to provide that “next step” for kids and families in various clubs moving up from Opti’s and “4-twinkies”.
Building on that program of progression in recent years has been the introduction of the J/sprit line of boats. Remarkably, the first J/sprit design to hit the shores of Australia was the J/122 (not exactly a little sportboat)! Since then, the J/111, J/97 and J/70 have begun to make their mark from Western Australia (Perth, Freemantle) to Eastern Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, etc). Why? Simple. Because J’s are fast upwind (an attribute not many boats in Australia are renown for) and they’re equally as fast flying downwind (a bit like RED ROO and YDRA combined with POLICE CAR’s legendary offshore performance with the tamed skittishness of COLOR 7’s Aussie 18 wildness). Here’s the latest report on J’s in Australia’s summer.
Sydney J/70 Fleet
Sydney J/70’s are having a blast and finished the one-design summer series on a few highs. The Sydney-based J/70s sailed on stunning Sydney Harbour every 3rd weekend, commencing 12th Sept until 2nd April (only 8 months of idyllic sailing- bummer for all the surfer-dudes). It does not suck, we can tell you. We love our long summers. Sun. Fun. Wind. Over 33 races. We have challenging windward-leeward courses, often 3 races per day!
The weather was a real mix from gale force winds and heavy chop to drifter’s where the fleet really did finish on high, a high pressure forced the very last race to be abandoned as the harbour glassed out.
Finishing at the top of the leader board was Tim Ryan’s 007 JAMES on 29 points closely followed by the most improved boat of the series, Reg and Sally Lord’s JUNO on 35.5 points, in third spot was Steve and Sue Brady’s Y-KNOT. The place getters had this to say about the very first long term J/70 series in Australia.
“The sailing was fantastic,” said Tim Ryan, “so good to be in one design again and live or die by sailing well. We are quite experienced in the local J/70 fleet, but our friends and competitors certainly pushed us all the way in the variety of conditions we experienced. Well done to you all.”
Reg Lord on JUNO said, “We really enjoyed this regatta. It was a lot of fun for everyone sailing J/70s on Sydney harbor in summer with consistent planing conditions.”
Steve & Sue Brady on Y-KNOT had a fun series. They started with a fresh crew so the drops and hoists were organized chaos initially, but they also improved leading around the top mark many times and managing to win a few races, including the very last one. On behalf of the J/70 fleet, Steve thanked Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron for laying on a great series and looking after the J/70s, the other J/70 crews for the competition and great camaraderie. He is also looking forward to seeing the even larger J/70 fleet that have all agreed to race in the West Harbour Bridge winter series respecting their decision to come visit him on his side of Sydney Harbour Bridge. The J/70s have secured their own J/70 class start in the expected mixed 180-boat fleet as the class goes from strength to strength.
J/122’s in West AustraliaWest Australian J/122s in both Doublehanded and Fully crewed racing came home with the silverware again! Both boats sailed the challenging Halls Head Ocean Race - Fremantle to Mandurah, Western Australia.
The Halls Head Ocean Race sees yachts race the 62nm from Fremantle to Mandurah where they berth overnight, followed by the Point Robert Return race on the Sunday, and run by Fremantle Sailing Club. With dark clouds and lightning looming in the northern sky for the pre-start, many crew members of the 34 yacht entrants would have been wondering if their heavy weight wet weather gear was in order. With a light, shifting easterly breeze, the skippers contemplated which kite, if any, they would call upon after rounding the day buoy.
All Divisions hoisted spinnakers at the day buoy, and the run to Channel Marker C was a vision of battling spinnakers. Considering the breeze was consistently shifting, there appeared to be minimal advantage from one spinnaker to another. The Southern Passage leg, after the Channel run, was exciting, kites were lost and a large portion of the fleet jostled for the best position to clear the passage and start the reach towards Mandurah keeping Coventry Reef to port. After clearing the reef, the yachts that held their course and waited for the southerly before tacking towards Mandurah generally faired better than those that tacked immediately after passing the reef.
With most yachts managing to get into the marina within an hour of each other, the scene was set for an entertaining evening. Sunday’s return race was sailed with a patchy and dropping breeze close to shore. Head to shore, stay out to sea or run the middle? Eventually the light-filling breeze was slightly stronger for the yachts further from the shore and the drag race home was uneventful but a very pleasant downwind ride back to Fremantle.
Amongst the fleets was JOSS, Ian Clynes J/122 in the fully crewed Division 2 competing against a pair of C&C 115s, Archambault 40’s, Elan 40s, Beneteaus 44.7, Farr 40, Farr 395, and Adams 13 to name a few. JOSS enjoyed a superb race and finished 2nd on IRC and 1st on YAH handicap in this very competitive fleet.
In the seven boat two handed division Graeme Monkhouse’s J/122 LITHIUM powered home to be first across the line and finished 2nd on IRC by under two minutes. These follow on from JOSS’ and LITHIUM’s recent wins in the Coventry Reef Offshore race.
J/97 in Sydney
The J/97 KNOCKABOUT again stood on the Podium in the prestigious Sydney Super 30 Gold Cup for the 4th consecutive year! That is an amazing record for any boat in Sydney!
Jim Chambers and his trusty crew, with an average age on the high side of 60, yet again took a podium finish in Australia’s Sydney Harbour “Super 30 Gold Cup Series” on AMS (Australian Measurement System). The J/97 KNOCKABOUT scored an impressive seven 1st places, six 2nd places and three 3rds to finish second overall to a stripped out 35 ft sports boat. In a ‘what might have been’ PHS result, they finished one point behind 3rd place in the 17 strong fleet.
“The series is comprised of 19 races with 3 drops allowed,” explained Jim. “It’s quite a mixed fleet mainly made up of stripped out sportboat types from 26 to 35 feet. We are one of the few, fully fitted out boats in the fleet, so at least I have the opportunity to go cruising in comfort afterwards! By the way, that is another reason why I love sailing our J/97!”
He continues to explain, “It’s been a lot of fun with very varied weather this season but the boat continuous to impress and look after her crew even though we don’t always do the right thing. We will take a break from racing over the winter but will be raring to go on our trusty J/97 again next season!”
J/111 in MelbourneThe crew on the J/111 JOUST takes first place again in Melbourne! They added the Sandringham YC Summer series to an already incredible race record in Melbourne Australia.
In the 11 week summer series held out of Sandringham YC on Melbourne’s stunning Port Phillip Bay and against some of Melbourne’s top boats, including a trio of First 40’s, 47.7, First 45, HH42, Sydney 38s and Bavaria Match 42 to name a few, one of the smallest boats in this competitive fleet has triumphed once again.
Rod Warren’s J/111 JOUST compiled an impressive score line of a first, four 2nds, two 3rds and dropped a 5th and 6th. The won again on AMS (Australian Measurement System) with an impressive 10 clear points to the second boat.
The above adds to the already impressive results Rod has chalked up in his first ever keelboat. These results include:
- Winner of Lipton Cup on AMS and 3rd on IRC
- Club Marine Cup 2nd AMS and 3rd IRC
- Geelong Festival of Sails Super 11 series 3rd AMS
- SYC Peter Taylor Trophy 1st AMS and 2nd IRC
- Commodore In Chief Trophy 1st IRC
- Port Phillip Trophy 1st AMS and 1st IRC
- Tam O Shanter overnight race 1st AMS
- Winter Series 2015 1st AMS
For more Australian J/Boats sailing information- contact Ray Entwistle- Ph +612-9997-7158/ Mob +612-0406-562262/ info@yachtspot.com.au
Warsash Spring Series III Report(Warsash, England)- Sunday's racing saw light to medium conditions, warmer than the previous Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series race, but overcast.
Black Group start was at East Knoll buoy, with winds of 9-13 knots South East backing almost East at times. Courses were mainly windward/leeward with courses set between start and Ryde Middle bank; becoming slightly skewed as the breeze backed further east than forecast.
Again, this week normal Solent tactics appeared to pay - with foul tide beats sailing to the tides first and wind shifts second was the order of the day.
In IRC 1 class, the J/111 JITTERBUG (Cornel Riklin) saved her time on the fleet to take first place for the third week running, leaving JITTERBUG leading the class overall by an enormous 10 pt margin.
The J/88s are moving up the ladder in IRC 2 class. Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT won race four and now sits in third overall. Similarly, Richard Cooper’s JONGLEUR sailed fast to take 3rd in the same race to move into 6th overall.
In IRC 3 class, the J/35 BENGAL MAGIC (Knight Build Ltd) took third place in race three. In race four, David Greenhalgh’s J/92 J’RONIMO took 2nd and sits in second overall and Andy Howe’s J/97 BLACKJACK II took 5th and sits in third place.
JUST SO (David McGough) is now leading the J/109 class after posting her third consecutive win, JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks) was second again with Simon Perry’s JIRAFFE in third overall.
The White Group start was near William buoy; there was one general recall when the midline bunching prevented individual boats being identified, but the restart took place cleanly without resorting to the black flag.For the J/80 class series, BETTY posted three 1sts yesterday to firmly put herself at the top of the table with JUMBLESAIL (Rachel and Robert Hunt) second overall and AQUA—J (Terence O'Neill) third.
The J/70 class saw INJUNCTION (Steve Venables) post three 1sts with COSMIC (Patrick Liardet) recording three 2nds. JALAPENO (Brian Denney) recorded two 3rds and OFFBEAT (David Mcleman) gained a third in the third race of the day. This puts COSMIC and INJUNCTION leading the J/70 series with JENGA 8 (Andrew Barraclough) lying third.
There was a good crowd back in the Warsash Sailing Club clubhouse with champagne courtesy of Rolly Tasker for each class.
The free draw for a Crewsaver lifejacket was won by Jumblesail (Rachel and Robert Hunt) and the draw for a Helly Hansen jacket was won by Dark and Stormy (Andrew Bell). Champagne and prizes were presented by WSC Commodore Nigel Russel. For more Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series sailing information
ARTTUBE Wins Russia J/70 Sailing League- Act I(Sochi, Russia)- The Russian J/70 Sailing League is rolling and Sochi provided a great stage to launch the most ambitious sailing project ever for the Russian Sailing Federation. During the three days of racing, Sochi’s weather provided sailors with a lot of surprises- some pleasant and other’s not so pleasant.
The regatta started with great weather on Friday, sunny, windy and the race committee managed to run eight races. However, the next day, it was beautiful, sunny, clear but no wind. Plenty of time for the fleet to catch up on their sun tans. It was a real test of patience for all the sailors. No matter how hard the PRO tried, it was not possible to get a race going on Saturday. On Sunday, the forecast promised a decent breeze in the early morning and fading by the second half of the day. Fortunately, the race committee decided to start at 8am(!) in the morning. Such an early rise was in the interests of everyone in the regatta, and no one grumbled. The third day of racing was not easy. In the morning the wind was fresh, but then it turned completely sour, with less wind plus the rain. The last batch of teams had to spend over two hours on the water waiting for the start.
With two wins on Friday, the ARTTUBE team’s beautiful young helmsman, Valeria Kovalenko, sailed well all weekend in the challenging conditions to take the overall win for the first regatta. Her team included Alexander Bozhko, Lisovenko Igor, and Sergei Avdonin. The second place team was Yacht Club Seven Feet (Ilya Ermakov, Anna Sannikov, Andrei Aniskin Marat Ahmedov). Then, taking third place was the Lord of Sail Team- Europe (Vyacheslav Ermolenko, Yuri Popov, Natalia Kravets, and Stanislav Georgiev).Of note, the fitness partner for the League- X-FIT- had the Russian Sailing Federation President (Vladimir Silkin) as the skipper and had a great crew that consisted of Olympic champions in Atlanta 1996- brothers Eugene and Igor Matvienko. This team was the only one to finish in the top three in all races held! Their four 3rd places and one victory in the last race is a strong indication for their future success!
The second phase of the J/70 Russia Sailing League will take place in Moscow on May 20-22. Russian Sailing League full day video- 6 hr 47 min Russian Sailing League summary Facebook- Russian Sailing FederationThe Russian Sailing League general partner is JSC (United Shipbuilding Corporation). The first stage partner is Sochi Grand Marina by Burevestnik Group. The Fitness League partner is a national chain of fitness clubs- X-FIT. General information partner is Championat.com. Media partners of the project include- Match TV, Forbes.com, Vesti.ru, Sport FM, Yachting Magazine and Vodabereg.ru. Regional Informational partners are- Retro FM and Maks-portal.ru. Strategic marketing and branding project come from Agency ViMarketing. Please contact Anna Mstislav for more info- +8-916-720-45-71 or e-mail. Sailing photo credits- Andrey Sheremetyev and Elena Otekina For more Russian Sailing Federation league information
Les Voiles de St Barth Update(Gustavia Harbour, St Barths)- From the 11th to 16th April, St Barths is hosting the 7th edition of Les Voiles de St. Barth, an event which, since its creation in 2010, has quite simply become indispensable thanks to the unique sporting atmosphere and conviviality that colors activities both on the water and on shore in this lovely little quadrant of French style in the Caribbean.
Bernie Evan-Wong’s crew aboard the chartered J/120 Team Taz is 80% women. Wong, who has missed only one Les Voiles since its inception, made the valiant effort to secure the charter after his own boat was damaged in a collision at the recent St. Thomas International Regatta. “We were just starting to get a grip this season when we had this knockout with the boat (which was new for him last season).”
As for the J/120, Wong’s crew, which includes his daughters Meiling and Sarah, could be the poster team for Caribbean circuit sailing, what with it having started in Grenada for this season’s first regatta, then moved on to the RORC Caribbean 600, the Heineken Regatta in St. Martin, St. Thomas, the BVI Regatta and now Les Voiles before heading to Antigua Sailing Week.
“We love this event,” he said. “The organizers outdo everybody else, and it’s innovative in many ways, like the cold bucket of champagne that a rib brings you when you finish on the last day. And, of course, it’s a lovely location and the course racing is very different, around the rocks where sometimes, I must say, the seas get a bit challenging. They do a brilliant job of making it fun, and obviously this is building every year, which is great.” To keep track of all that fun in the sun, please be sure to visit the Les Voiles St Barth website here.
Italy J/24 Report(Rome, Italy)- All across Italy, the J/24s are sailing their winter series, whether just south of Rome or offshore on the island of Sardinia. Here are their latest reports.
ROME
It was a special victory for the sailors on board KISMET, the boat owned by the late Antonio Antoneli. Thanks to the determination of his wife Francesca Focardi (and crew of Beppe Olmeti, Marcello Marverti and Nunzio Valitutto), they made a stunning comeback in the last weekend of racing to win the Cervia Winter Championship and the Trofeo VIII Memorial Pirini.
"For us on KISMET, this is a special victory that goes beyond the competitive results. We did everything to win because we did it for the memory of Antonio,” commented Francesca Focardi Antonelli. “The helmsmen who took turns on board were exceptional, as well as all the crew, that showed an extreme commitment to winning the event. I am proud of them. I also wish to thank all the J/24 class and particularly the J/24 Fleet of Romagna not only for having been so close to us as a family, but also for showing me that the J/24 crews are like a big family to all of us. Because of your support, KISMET will continue racing! We will definitely take part in the National J/24 Circuit and also for the 2017 Winter Series in Cervia."For the series, CAPTAIN NEMO too second, co-skippered by Guido and Domenico Brighi. In third was BLUE WIND sailed by Mauro Martelli. The rest of the top five included MAGIC FAIRY (Viscardo Brusori and Massimo Frigerio) in fourth and KERMESSE (Marco Maccaferri) in fifth.
ANZIO-NETTUNO- NATIONAL SERIES- ACT ILA SUPERBA won the first stage of the Italian J/24 National Circuit after sailing the eight race series in the Gulf of Anzio-Nettuno. Twenty-six teams participated in the regatta that was characterized by strong winds and a high level of competition.
It was not an easy victory for LA SUPERBA’s skipper- Ignazio Bonanno (with crew of Simone Carrera, Francesco Picaro, Francesco Branciforte, & Alfredo Linares). Despite having won four races with three 2nds in their scoreline, they barely beat out a top German J/24 team led by Stefan Karsunke. Stefan’s SUELLBERG crew also won four of the eight races and finished just one point back in second! Third for the regatta was BLACK LEATHER sailed by Paul Cecamore and Hungarian Soling World Champion Farkas Litkey. The fourth and fifth positions were taken by MOLLICONA (Vincenzo Mercuri) and MARBEA (Marcello Bellacicca & Antonio Macina). For more Italian J/24 Class sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* The ALCATEL J/70 Cup just started last week and during the first Act held at YC Monaco in Monte Carlo, they produced a beautiful sailing video of the event. You can watch that Alcatel J/70 Monaco production here.
* The J/88 MI:2, sailed by David Malkin from Annapolis, MD, participated in the Conch Republic Cup from Key West, FL to Havana, Cuba race this year. They were fortunate to have Ashley Love of T2P.TV Sailing Productions on board to document the whole experience— all from onboard the J/88! Said David, “what a fantastic offshore boat! Fast in any wind and sea conditions, and truly a roller-skate downwind- just flies down the waves with finger-tip touch on the helm! Just love it!” Watch this entertaining video of sailing the J/88 to Cuba!
* Keeping Families Together. A long-time J/24 Newport Fleet 50 sailor, Dan Dickison, provided some perspective on several teams that are participating in this year’s Charleston Race Week. Here is his commentary:“Not too long ago, sailing with family was the norm in this sport. On summer weekends, Dad or mom or both regularly dragged the youngsters out on the water in the family’s Flying Scot or Pearson Ensign or Santana 20. Eventually, the young ones took to the sport – and soon enough – they were taking over.
Witness Shannon Lockwood and her dad Bill, who are coming down to Charleston from New Jersey to sail in the J/80 Class. Shannon has been racing with her dad since she was in college, and the two of them have been campaigning their boat Shenanigans pretty consistently since 2008. (Longtime racers will recognize Bill’s name from his J/35 and Mumm 30 days on board Instigator. He’s been on the racing scene for roughly 40 years.)
Shannon, who grew up sailing, says that her mom and dad included all five Lockwood siblings on sailing vacations in the British Virgin Islands and local regattas around the New Jersey coast. As a racer, she cut her teeth in the junior program at Keyport Yacht Club racing Optis. After that, she went on to sail for collegiate powerhouse St. Mary’s College in Maryland. That’s about when the Lockwood’s bought their J/80.
“At Charleston,” says, Shannon, “I’ll be doing the driving with dad doing the mainsail trim. We also sail with regular crewmembers Jeff Todd, who handles trimming and tactics and Koralina McKenna who does the mast and bow.” So, what’s it like sailing with dad right next to you all the time? “He’s cool,” Shannon says. “My dad basically got me into this sport, and it’s really fun to be sharing it with him now.”But the Lockwoods won’t be the only family team on the water in Charleston. In fact, more than a dozen entries in the regatta qualify for that description.
In the J/70 Class alone there are at least three family teams, including Bodo and Nick Von der Wense on board the family’s well-traveled Turbo Duck. There’s also husband and wife Leif and Laura Sigmond (top photo) on board Norboy out of Chicago, and father and son Dan and Gannon Troutman out of Gloucester, Virginia. Gannon, who is just 13, was the youngest helmsmen on the water at CRW last year, and the Troutman’s finished an impressive fourth in the 79-boat fleet.
Then, in the Viper 640 Class, there are brothers Matt and Mark Rowlinson who have been sailing together for over 40 years in a variety of boats. They grew up sailing with their dad on Lake Champlain, but now live north of Lake Erie in Canada. Matt says they bought the Viper back in 2007 and it’s the only boat they’ve ever owned together.
“Mark and I live two hours apart,” explains Matt, “so sailing together means we get to see each other. We always have lots to talk about between races, and if there is some brotherly competition on board, well, it may even help us. But usually, we try to keep that to a minimum.” At home, he says, they sometimes sail in the PHRF fleet, and if they do that, the crew often includes a third brother.Spaceman Spiff
Rob Ruhlman, steering, is joined by his daughter Maegan (far left) and his wife Abby (center) on board the family’s J/111 Spaceman Spiff.
Perhaps the biggest family team at the event this year will be on board longtime one-design racer Rob Ruhlman’s J/111 Spaceman Spiff. Ruhlman, who sails out of Cleveland, Ohio, says he’ll have his son Ryan trimming the kites, his daughter Maegan trimming the headsails, and his wife Abby in the pit. And they’re very competitive.
The Ruhlmans tied for second at CRW last year, and finished second the last two years at Key West Race Week. None of that surprises Rob. He says the family works well together on board and has for several years. It’s one of his favorite things. Enough said.”
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, for 2015/ 2016! 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 regards their various improvements and refit to the boat (see above). They will again be based at Proper Yachts in St John, US Virgin Islands.
* Bill & Judy Stellin were interviewed 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 months of June and July will host a succession of events ranging from races for superyachts to interclub regattas and competitions for one-design fleets. Racing commences with the Club hosting the Italian J/70 fleet for the first time for the Alcatel J/70 Cup (2-5 June) and continues with the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta (7-11 June), an eagerly awaited event that once again this year promises a large fleet of spectacular sailing giants. The second edition of the Invitational Team Racing Challenge, an international event in the true Corinthian spirit, will see top yacht Clubs invited to compete on board the Club's new J/70 fleet and will take place from 14th to 18th June. The first half of the sporting season concludes with another new event, the AUDI Italian Sailing League (8-10 July), an event that gathers top Italian yacht clubs for 3 days of competition, once again on board the YCCS J/70 boats.
Konakovo River Club
Moscow Imperial YC
Following the footsteps of the 2015 event, the Italian J/70 Class Association will count on a highly international fleet for the entire racing season. And, whereas several new teams have joined the Italian and European J/70s, all top teams of the 2015 ALCATEL J/70 Cup- both in overall and Corinthian divisions- started their 2016 season in Monaco to collect the points through the series consisting of the five events.
The regatta was blessed with good sailing conditions all three days, with the lightest day being the final day with a light easterly of just 8 to 12 kts. Even then, the regatta’s PRO managed to fire off seven races for the enthusiastic sailors. Plus, the famous "swimsuit fashion show" was a popular as ever.
Saturday morning dawned with a gorgeous sunrise, but with a perfectly “glassed-out” lake mirroring the spectacular snow-capped mountains. The teams sat and socialized under postponement for a few hours on Porto Ronco Beach until the breeze came. By early afternoon, a south wind built again with 4-6 kts of breeze, enough to get in four more races on the day to complete five rounds in total. Race winners on the day included RC Oberhofen, two from RC Bodensee and one for SN Geneva. As a result, the RC Bodensee team was winning a tiebreaker at 11 pts each over SN Geneva due to having two more race wins. Sitting just one point back in third place was the RC Oberhofen team; they had sailed fast and smart for the day, accumulating a 1-2 to be within striking distance of the leaders.
Day 4
“My oldest grandson is 14 years old and already he’s almost six feet tall. The other one is 13 years old and is very tiny. The tiny one helps on the bow and the other one helps in the cockpit.”