J/Gear Holiday Special!A Holiday Special for all J/Boat owners, crews, and sailing friends! Lots of great gift ideas & clothing for everyone!
Please go shopping EARLY for your custom J/GEAR to ensure delivery in time for the holidays! You can get a 20% discount if you enter this code- JBH2017xm- when you are ready to check out and pay for your items. This offer is good until November 19th, 2017 (note- half-models and JBoats custom prints are not included in this offer). Visit the J/Gear store now- http://jgear.vsport.biz
Beautiful J/Models for Home or Office(San Cristobal, Dominican Republic)- Wondering what kind of fun and unique gift to give to a friend or loved one this holiday season? Consider Abordage down in the Dominican Republic.
Founded by Denis Cartier in 1989, his model-making business called Abordage.com has produced a number of gorgeous J/Models, ranging from the J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80 up to the J/109, J/122, J/44, and J/122E.
With their great devotion to both the sea and sailing, Abordage has been proudly producing beautifully handcrafted ship models; either classic or modern ships for nearly three decades. Spectacular examples of their work include the 100 footer COMANCHE (4 feet long!) and the equally large (6 feet tall!) model of
the ORACLE America’s Cup winged catamaran that was in the lobby of Bermuda’s international airport! From their well-established workshop in the Dominican Republic, the highly skilled team of craftsmen works with only the finest materials and produces every ship model in minute detail and with innovative perfection. If you have an interest in these remarkably affordable models of your boat, please visit- http://www.abordage.com. For J/Model examples, please take a look at some of the stunning detail here. For more information, contact Denis Cartier- email- abordage@abordage.com/ tel: +1-809-5281992 ext- 503
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide
The first week of November saw brilliant winter sailing in parts of Europe, South America and southwest USA. In England, the popular Hamble Winter Series had a bright and beautiful weekend of sailing on the Solent, not like its usual stormy mix of wind and rain. The Hamble Sailing Club managed to run some great racing for the IRC classes and the one-design J/88 class. Across the English Channel, we find French J/80 sailors ending their Coupe de France series in Quiberon, France, competing for the French J/80 National Championship- a lot of races were run by the very capable YC Quiberon. Then, up north in Berlin, Germany, there were two finales in the German J/70 Sailing League (the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga); one was the first league’s finale for the top eighteen teams in Germany, and the second was the Youth J/70 Sailing League finale held on same weekend.Over in the Americas were two well-attended events. In San Diego, CA, southern California J/sailors get excited to have fun in the infamous Hot Rum Series- a “pursuit-style” race that starts and finishes off Shelter Island. The opening event saw classic conditions, light to moderate WNW breezes and plenty of sunny skies.
Then, way, way south off the Pacific coastline of Chile, the second annual J/70 South American Championship was hosted by Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico off the port of Algarrobo, Chile. It was a highly competitive fleet of twenty boats from Chile, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
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 pag Below are the summaries.
Regatta & Show Schedules:
Nov 9-12- Mallory Cup- US Adult Champs- St Petersburg, FLNov 18- Hot Rum Series II- San Diego, CA
Dec 2- Hot Rum Series III- San Diego, CA
Dec 9-10- Jammin Jamaica J/22 Regatta- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Dec 8-10- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Tampa, FL
Jan 5-7- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Tampa, FL
Jan 19-21- J/Fest St Pete- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 9-11- Quantum J/70 Winter Series- Tampa, FL
Feb 15-18- St Pete NOOD Regatta- St Petersburg, FL
Feb 17-18- SCYA Midwinter Regatta- Long Beach, CA
Feb 19- RORC Caribbean 600 Race- English Harbour, Antigua
Feb 23-25- J/70 Midwinters- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 1-4- Heineken St Maarten Regatta- Simpson Bay, St Maarten
Mar 7-11- Bacardi Miami Sailing Week- Coconut Grove, FL
Mar 16-18- San Diego NOOD Regatta- San Diego, CA
Mar 22-25- St Thomas International Regatta- Red Hook Bay, St Thomas, USVI
Mar 29- Apr 1- Easter Regatta- Columbia, SC
Apr 12-15- Charleston Race Week- Charleston, SC
Apr 8-14- Voiles de Saint Barth Regatta- Gustavia, St Barth
Apr 26-29- J/70 Corinthian Nationals- Ft Worth, TX
Apr 28- May 4- Antigua Sailing Week- English Harbour, Antigua
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
BLACK SAILS Crowned J/70 South American Champion(Algarrobo, Chile)- The second annual J/70 South American Championship took place off Algarrobo, Chile and was hosted by Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico from the 27th to 31st of October. Almost 100 sailors participated on twenty boats including teams from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
There were lots of expectations that had been mounting for months prior to the regatta. Chile had a 20+ active J/70 fleet members among the first 33 boats imported from USA in the last 5 years into South America. The Chilean class did their best to make a fair championship, with Chief Measurer Dave McNabb and a local team measuring all boats. Flavio Naveira and Nelson Ilha lead the Jury team. And, Theodoro (Kiko) Kundig lead the RC team.
The previous month, some teams started to search for light 5th crew among the Optimist class in Algarrobo. This time of the year is somewhat famous for the strong winds in Algarrobo, so the average weight among the boats was 340 to 350kgs. Before the start of the first official race, BLACK SAILS team was set with 5-crew and 370kgs total weight. But, after a bad practice race with light winds and looking at the weather report for the week, they decided to put one crew back on the shore! And, they were right. Everyday, but Sunday, the winds averaged 10-12kts and two races were sailed with less than 10kts. There were four days of racing with a total of nine races.
On the first day three races were sailed, the first started at 2:30pm. The fleet was greeted by southwest winds from 230 to 240 deg at 8-12 kts and choppy seas. Top teams were Per von Appen’s BLACK SAILS with a 1-1-3 tally and TSUNAMI with the Ducasse family on board with an 8-3-1 scoreline (skipper was Andres Ducasse). The Ducasse family had four brothers and their father as the team; a tough crew that would certainly battle until the very end of the regatta! Then, sitting in third with scores of 3-6-5 was URUBORO sailed by Maria “Pipa” Cisternas, her family, and Benjamin Grez calling tactics- they were a very tough team to beat.On the second day, two races took place with the 1st start at 12:00. Light southwesterly winds from 240 to 260 deg prevailed and the heavier crews struggled. BLACK SAILS continued to stretch their lead with a 9-1. And, the Ducasse family on URUBORO did a great job to manage the light winds and the tough fleet to hang on to second overall in the provisional standings with a 3-8.
On the third day of racing, the more experienced crews maintained their consistency and kept rising to the top of the leaderboard. With stronger southwest breezes of 12-15 kts, the boats had to manage transitions from planing mode to soak mode in the large Pacific swells and the wind streaks. In general, sailing off Algarrobo is very favored on the left. But, this time some boats gained a lot looking for some pressure with the kite downwind on the right side of the course. Carlos Vergara on board SENSEI/ TECNOFAST posted a 3-2-2 for the day’s best record. And, Matias Seguel on board VOLVO had the next best tally for the day with a 5-1-1. Unfortunately, SENSEI/ TECNOFAST and team were OCS on the first race of the day (race #6) and could not stay in the top places.
What became the final day of racing started a little later than 1200 hrs. Only one race was held with very light winds from the west. Ducasse’s TSUNAMI did a great job to win the only race of the day, ultimately taking 2nd overall for the Championship. Closing with a 3rd place in race 9 was von Appen’s BLACK SAILS, effectively shutting the door on all other competitors to win the regatta with just 20 pts net. By taking a 5th place in the final race, Alejandro Perez’s PELIGRO took the final bronze position on the podium. Seguel’s VOLVO could not overcome their mid-regatta “brain fade” of 11-11-9 to take fourth place (note- they had by far the best last four races of the fleet- a 5-1-1-4!). Then, an early fleet leader, Cisternas’ URUBORO faded fast with a 9-10-7 in the last three races to drop to fifth place overall.Winning the Corinthians Division was Benjamin Fuenzalida with father and brothers. Benjamin is an ex-Optimist sailor with a brilliant future in the J/70 class.
Best boat from abroad was Brazil’s Marcos Soares, sailing HIGHLANDER to a 7th place overall. Then, Brazil’s Renato Farías sailing TONESSA was 9th and Diego García’s CHAPULIN from Uruguay took 12th place.
The next South American Championship will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in November 2018. Brazil will host in 2019. Sailing photo credits- Ben Sans. Local sailng news story here on Algarrobo Digital For more J/70 South American Championship sailing information
Lindauer Segler-Club Wins DSBL Berlin FinaleNorddeutscher Regatta Verein Crowned 2017 German Champions
(Berlin, Germany)- The 2017 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga championship (DSBL) was characterized by remarkable “roller-coaster” scorelines by all clubs and the resulting anxiety-ridden finale in Berlin. After comfortably leading the series with just 20 pts going into the finale, it appeared the last event would just be a coronation for Deutscher Touring YC to win the series, an almost anti-climactic event. And, all other clubs would just be competing for the balance of the podium, such was the consistency of German’s leading club for the entire season, sailing on the fleet of matched J/70 one-design sailboats.
In what could only be described as one of the most shocking, chaotic outcomes in the history of the DSBL, the entire top of the leaderboard for the season series was “flip-flopped” in one regatta!
Winning the Berlin event with a very strong performance was the Lindauer Segler-Club with mostly top three scores to win by a comfortable margin of 8 pts, with a total of 36 pts for 15 races. A surprisingly good effort was put on by Chiemsee YC, winning a tie-breaker on 44 pts each over Dusseldorf YC. Then, rounding out the top five were Norddeutscher Regatta Verein in 4th place with 45 pts and Wassersport Verein Hemelingen with 48 pts.
As a result, the DSBL series experienced an eye-opening outcome. By virtue of finishing 4th in Berlin, Norddeutscher Regatta Verein won the 2017 edition of the German J/70 Sailing League. The six regatta series (Prien, Lindau, Kiel, Travemunde, Glucksburg, Berlin) was a story of steady, but rocky, improvement for the NRV team. Their regatta tallies of 10-2-1-9-2-4 were enough to be crowned German DSBL champions with a total of 28 pts. After going into the final regatta with a comfortable lead, it was Deutscher Touring YC that must be crying into their 1-liter beer steins! After posting a 4-6-6-1-3 in the first five regattas, the famous Oktoberfest may have influenced their thinking. A 16th place in the last regatta may have left a sour taste in their mouths, dropping them into 2nd overall with 36 pts.
Nearly eclipsing their brothers for the worst performance in a finale were the Segel-und Motorboot Club Uberlingen. After winning the first regatta in Prien, their team was happily in 2nd place for the season going into the finale. However, like their DTYC colleagues, no one seemed to figure out how to sail on the
flat lake in Berlin, adding a 13th to their tally to drop to third overall for the season with a 39 pts total.View the German J/70 sailing video summaries here:
https://www.facebook.com/SegelBundesliga/videos/865806976927234/
https://www.facebook.com/SegelBundesliga/videos/866510640190201/
German J/70 Youth Sailing League Finale
After the “open” DSBL championship was completed on Saturday, the youth league held their finale on the same boats and same venue on Sunday. The “youth league” was comprised of five regattas, 143 races, 32 competitors, 66 races, 276 nm of races sailed, with the highest recorded speed of 17.5 kts! Taking 2017 league honors was Berliner YC, followed by Bayerischer YC in second place and Munchner YC in third to round out the podium. Follow the German J/70 Sailing League (Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga) For more German J/70 Sailing League information
Brilliant Winter Sailing @ Hamble Winter Series(Hamble, England)- Competitors for the fifth weekend of the Hamble Winter Series enjoyed a fantastic day of racing with the Hamble River Sailing Club, supported by OneSails. Winter racing doesn't get much better, there may have been a chill in the air, but the sea temperature in the Solent in November is as good as June. Bright sunshine, 15-20 knots of wind over tide, and the whole Solent to choose from, a wide variety of teams and boats reveled in the superb conditions. Principal Race Officer, Stuart Childerley and his team delivered a superb course with one long race for all classes.
In IRC One, Chaz Ivill's J/112E DAVANTI TYRES scored their fourth bullet of the series, and was the fastest boat around the track in any class after IRC time correction. They are now leading their class by a considerable margin.
"This is the first year with the new boat, and as always it takes time to tune up and figure out the best set up,” commented Chaz Ivill. "We have been sailing the boat much flatter in a good breeze, and that has powered her up, especially upwind."
In the J/88 Class, Avia Willment is having an outstanding debut season, scoring a fifth bullet for the series, but only just. J/88 National Champion, Paul Ward's EAT SLEEP J REPEAT was just 17 seconds behind. Gavin Howe's TIGRIS was third. Consequently, Willment’s crew is leading by a hefty margin of 9 pts over fellow 88 teams. Second is Howe’s TIGRIS with 16 pts net, followed by Richard Cooper’s JONGLEUR with 20 pts in third place.In IRC Two, Simon Perry's J/109 JIRAFFE pulled off the best start of the day to take second place and is currently sitting in third place overall for the series.
In IRC Three, David Greenhalgh's J/92 J’RONIMO was third, by just 11 seconds after IRC time correction. Nevertheless, still leading the series id Annie & Andy Howe’s J/97 BLACKJACK II with just 13 pts net after seven races sailed. Second is Robin Stevenson’s J/92S UPSTART with 19 pts net.
Racing at the Hamble Winter Series continues with weekend #six on Sunday 12th November. Sailing photo credits- Hamo Thornycroft. For more Hamble Winter Series sailing information
ARMEN HABITAT French J/80 National Champion!(Quiberon, France)- The French J/80 sailing season ended where it started, on the Bay of Quiberon from October 28 to November 1, 2017, at Quiberon (Port-Haliguen) organized by the Yacht Club of Quiberon. Forty-seven teams participated in the finale that saw amazing racing from the top J/80 crews in France. The regatta was held in variable wind conditions, oscillating between 7 and 15 knots. The first day saw light weather and flat seas, and then the remaining days had medium breezes and chop sitting on top of large swells.
In the end, it was Pierre Loic Berthet’s crew on ARMEN HABITAT from APCC Voile Sportive that were crowned with the most coveted sportboat title in all of France, that of French J/80 National Champion.
Once again, the French J/80 Nationals were blessed with good weather and a very high level of competition. After three days of sailing, the top three boats were separated by a mere 7 pts. Berthet’s ARMEN HABITAT led the way with 31 points. Anne Phelipon’s NAVIGATLANTIQUE from Societe Regate Rochelaises from La Rochelle were second with 35 points. And, Sylvain Pellisier’s VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE from Virtual Regatta YC had 38 points.
On the last day, Berthet’s ARMEN HABITAT consolidated their lead with two bullets to win with just 33 pts in 10 races! Pellisier’s VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE also closed out their series with all top five finishes to take the silver on the podium with 45 pts net, 12 pts back from the leader Berthet. Then, rounding out the podium was Anne Phelipon’s NAVIGATLANTIQUE in the bronze position, suffering from a closing 3-21-7 to finish with 62 pts total.
The balance of the top five was Jeremy Jean’s APCC EQUIPPE JEUNE MIXTE in fourth from APCC Voile Sportive with 76 pts. Just two points back in fifth place was Theo Carayon’s VITEL SAILING Team from E.V. Trebeurden with 78 pts. For more French J/80 National Championship sailing information
Classic Opening For Hot Rum Series!(San Diego, CA)- Every year, many sailors in southern California look forward to what may be one of the most popular SoCal offshore keelboat classics of all time- the infamous “Hot Rum Series” run by San Diego YC in November and December. It is popular because it is, essentially, a “no brainer” from a racing standpoint. It is a “pursuit race”, so you start at an appointed time pre-determined by the SDYC PRO and PHRF calculators, and where you finish is how you actually finished in the race! Doh! Yeah. That simple. Go home knowing you could have gone from zero to hero in one day! For the most part, the 100+ boats and nearly 1,000 competitors simply love the spectacle and the fact they are participating on yet another beautiful, fall, outrageously spectacular day off “Sunny Diego’s” majestic Point Loma peninsula.
The event is a favorite amongst many J/sailors in the region. Not surprisingly, many of them do quite well and earn more than their fair share of silverware, plates, pickle-dishes, salad bowls, photos, and what not.
This past weekend’s race was quite typical of the Hot Rum series. The first starters saw light breezes from the northwest, building as the afternoon progressed up to 8-10 kts. In such scenarios, it is often the little boats that start first with the lowest ratings that get the short-end of the straw. Meanwhile, the big fast 50 to 70 footers in the back of the pack roar off the start line in 10-15 kts winds and smoke the little boats by the time everyone converges on the finish line just off Shelter Island inside San Diego Harbor.However, this past weekend, it was not so. Little boats did OK. An infamous Ericson 35 Mk XXX with a crazy rating took overall honors, yet again. But, the Gomez-Ibarra crew on he J/70 VAGAZO got 4th overall and first in their class. Then, Chuck Nichols’ J/120 CC RIDER took 7th overall and fourth in their class. And, Dag Fish’s J/105 VIGGEN took 8th overall and first in their PHRF 3 class. Not a bad showing for this trio of J/Boats!
On a class basis, Mark Surber’s J/125 DERIVATIVE took 5th in PHRF Class 1. And, Viggo Torbensen’s J/125 TIMESHAVER placed 7th. In PHRF Class 2, Laun’s J/120 CAPER was 6th behind Nichols’ CC RIDER.
The J/70s just about cleaned house in PHRF 4 class. Behind VAGAZO, it was Wyman’s NUNUHUNU in 2nd and Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR in 4th.
Finally, in PHRF 5 class, the Case’s J/22 ZO ZO took third place, followed by Lynch’s J/30 RUFFIAN in 8th and Dave Cattle’s J/27 BLACKADDER in 9th position. Sailing photo credits- SDYC/ Cynthia Sinclair. For more Hot Rum Series sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Wish to DONATE your J/105 to a great cause? Support youth development and youth sailing in St Croix, US Virgin Islands?The U.S. Virgin Islands got hammered by Hurricane Irma. And, the J/36 the high school youth were sailing got destroyed and sank. Here is the story from her owner, Stan Joines from Christiansted, St Croix:
“My J/36 #53 called PALADIN was destroyed in Hurricane Irma. She was anchored in Charlotte Amalie Harbor. We were dismasted in the 2016 St. Thomas regatta. Without an engine, I had to leave her over there. That summer, I found a J/35 mast on a partially sunken boat and raised it. However, a masthead rig wouldn't work on the J/36. This summer, I went up to the USA mainland and found one from a boat wrecked in Hurricane Iris in Pensacola, FL. After arranging for three different trucking companies to carry it for different legs, it was to be shipped from Miami the very day Hurricane Irma hit St. Thomas.
A friend called on his SAT phone at 5:00 a.m. on Thursday after Hurricane Irma hit; at that time, it had backed off to a tropical storm. He said that he had to call and let me know that PALADIN was the only boat floating in the harbor, and he was amazed, although she was very low in the water. Debris from the island had filled her cockpit and it was not draining. He called back at 5:30 to say that he had watched her sink. I immediately began making plans to get over and raise her, as soon as humanitarian relief efforts had been put together first. Two weeks later, I had my team together, kids who had grown up racing on the boat. It took me four days with ten neighbors to dig out of the bush to the main road in St Croix. We all helped rebuild roofs, clear brush, and cheer each other. This weekend, the team was together, and we went to St. Thomas to raise PALADIN.
We made a grid of 500 yards in any direction from where she went down, and started at the center, working our way out. Though originally in 12 feet of water, she had dragged her anchors into 35 ft deep water. The harbor was pea soup, from all of the rain. A fishing boat used its fish finding sonar to find bumps. We dragged a weight across the bottom towards the bump until we hooked it, and then we took turns diving. You could not see your elbow in front of your face; it was really spooky, pieces of old boats or lionfish looming out of the gloom right in front of your face. In three days, we covered the grid but did not find PALADIN, much to our dismay. We all had to return to St. Croix for work and families, but made plans to return to St. Thomas next weekend. We got a ride to the ferry dock, and as we were walking from the terminal to the ferry, we passed a seven-foot section of PALADIN’s deck leaning against the fence! The ferry dock is a mile from where she sank off Yacht Haven Grande! It was a very sad moment for all of us who had loved her and sailed her for nearly a decade.
The privilege of being able to take kids out and win was awesome. They learned that through regular and focused practice they could win. The electricity of regattas, meeting sailors from all over the world, night crossings under the stars, all made for great memories. Most importantly, they not only learned teamwork, they grew into young, mature, responsible adults, excited about taking on the world and challenges in their future. We miss that camaraderie. Nevertheless, we are hoping to find a ‘new” PALADIN to replace her.” Thanks to Stan for his perspectives on this sad loss.For J/105 owners, if you have an opportunity to donate your boat to a fantastic cause, please contact Stan Joines directly- email- stanfordjoines@hotmail.com
Stan has a fiduciary account with the “St. Croix Foundation for Community Development”- donors can use their 501(c)3 status as a tax donation. For reference, here is their website- http://www.stxfoundation.org/ Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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WSV Almere Centraal was hoping to win another title. Team captain John Engelsman said, "Our ambition was to win another title. We also wanted to get the final stage in Monnickendam, but unfortunately, it just did not work. At the beginning of this season, we added four new members to our team. All experienced racing sailors, but every round was another challenge to set up the right team. Until this weekend, we managed to win three rounds, although the margins of winning are significantly smaller compared to 2016. Even for the Sailing Champions League that we sailed, the margins were quite small between the 36 best clubs in Europe; we finished 9th overall and the podium had a four point spread from 1st to 3rd- amazing!”
The teams consisted of four-man crew, whose configurations were different in different races. In the competition, Åländska SS's top team was Daniel Mattsson, Mathias Dahlman, Isak Nordlund and Staffan Lindberg.
"We have an exceptional field of racing sailors,” commented the LegaVela President Roberto Emanuele de Felice. “It was a perfect venue for racing. A thank you to President Verri and his team- Crotone really did their best to host a wonderful event. Congratulations to the Circolo Canottieri Aniene, which in this finale embodied great spirit and tremendous talent needed. The LIV Formula is outstanding, and it is clear the level of J/70 racing by all clubs is getting much higher."
Day 2
Ironically, this year marked the 50th Anniversary of the “Summer of Love” edition (remember Woodstock??) of the Great Pumpkin Regatta, just as the region’s Indian Summer came to an abrupt end. Days of highs in the 80's on the San Francisco Bay with light tranquil winds were replaced with a stout, cold onshore wind, ushered in by a very dense fog bank, causing many to reach in the their closets for the heavy foul weather gear not worn in months.
* We recently received a report regarding how a J/145 is fairing in its current home in the Pacific Northwest- Seattle, Washington area. Here is the sweet note from Edie & John Tenneson, owners of the J/145 JEDI:
* J/70 Sailing League using MarkSETBot for automated race course management!
I recently ran a J/70 Stadium Sailing event at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (Detroit, MI) in partnership with Benjamin Klatzka, USA president of the Premiere Sailing League (PSL). We teamed up with Kevin Morin, inventor of the MarkSETBot, and ran an all-automated race course using three mobile MarkSETBot marks. PSL intends to use MarkSETBot at all future stadium sailing events.
* Congrats to Newport sailing duo Charlie Enright and Mark Towill and the rest of the VESTAS 11th Hour Racing crew (including Newport Shipyard’s Nick Dana, son of Charlie Dana- owner of the yard) on their first leg win in the Volvo Ocean Race!
Charlie Enright is the third American skipper to win Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race. The others were John Kostecki, on illbruck in 2001-02, and Paul Cayard on EF Language in 1997-98. Both of those teams went on to an overall victory – so the omens for Charlie Enright are certainly good.
“But we pride ourselves on not getting too high or too low and I think we executed that on this leg. It’s about having confidence in ourselves and committing to the process and now we’re starting to see the results of that.”