July 9th, 2014
Bacardi Sail Newport Regatta Preview(Newport, RI)- The annual summer regatta that many sailors in the one-design dinghy and keelboat community in the Northeast often look forward to is the “not-to-be-missed” Bacardi Sail Newport Regatta, presented this year by EFG Banks, sailing from July 11th to 13th. With support coming from the famous beverage company long ago started by sailing fanatics from Havana, Cuba, the Bacardi family continues to enthusiastically partner in leading-edge events for one-design sailors. If you’ve enjoyed their Bacardi Cup and Miami Sailing Week events during the winter, now’s the time to put on your agenda their summertime sailing festival in Newport!
Answering that call for fun-in-the-sun in Narragansett Bay are two large fleets of J/24s and J/70s. The 70 fleet is by far the largest fleet in the entire event with thirty-three boats registered, at stake are two of the last qualifying spots for the upcoming J/70 World Championship being sailed in the same waters in September. For the teams that have already qualified, many are anticipating the opportunity to sail in both the bay waters as well as offshore and gain some experience in the moderate seabreezes and large swell that are typical off Newport. Top teams in attendance include Jud Smith’s AFRICA, Doug Strebel & Jay Lutz on BLACK RIVER RACING, Joel Ronning on CATAPULT, John Brigden on COOL STORY BRO, Allan Terhune on DAZZLER, Rob Britts on HOT MESS, Jim Cunningham on LIFTED, Heather Gregg-Earl & Joe Bardenheier on MUSE, Will Welles on RASCAL, a dazzling trio on RUNNING WILD (Peter Vessella, Phil Trinter and Johnny MacCausland), Brian Keane on SAVASANA, Stuart Hebb on THIN ICE and Martie Kullman on TOUCH2PLAY. Watch this space, as it will be a harbinger of things to come in the September Worlds. In addition, many of these teams will be driving directly up to Rochester, New York to also sail the J/70 North Americans the following week on Lake Ontario!
The world of J/24s has the privilege of sailing against current World Champions in the form of Tim Healy & John Mollicone joining forces on Team HELLY HANSEN. While they may be the odds-on favorites in the fourteen-boat class, there are others who can put up a good dogfight and take a few races wins away from them. Some of them include Aidan Glackin’s MENTAL FLOSS from Centerport YC, Tom Barbeau’s Canadian team on NAVTECH.CA, Tom Doran’s OZ, Mike Marshall’s PIPE DREAM from Jamestown, RI and Sumio Shimoyama’s Japanese team sailing SOKOKUMARU from Tokyo. Many of these teams have the same idea in mind as the top J/70 sailors; many are already qualified to sail in the J/24 World Championships also being hosted in Newport in late September! For more Bacardi Sail Newport Regatta sailing information
Bayview Mackinac Race Preview(Port Huron, MI)- It’s that “Mac time” of year again, the mid-July classics that call Mackinac Island “home” after hundreds of sailors fly (or often drift) across hundreds of miles of clear, virgin blue lake waters to the iconic finish line. This year, it’s the Bayview Mackinac Race that’s first on the agenda followed a week later by the Chicago Mackinac version. Both have their challenges and passionate followers.
Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race celebrates its 90th edition when the 229 entrants start on Saturday, July 12. From its traditional start in Southern Lake Huron, the fleet will head North on one of two courses. The shorter course, called the “Acura Shore Course,” covers 204 nm along the Michigan shoreline before heading west to Mackinac Island Bell’s Beer finish line. The longer “Quantum Sails Cove Island Course” is 259 nm and takes sailors around a buoy off the tip of the Bruce Peninsula in Canadian waters before heading west toward the finish line. This year five Divisions will be offered: Cove Island Racing; Shore Course Racing; Shore Course Cruising; Multi-Hull; and Double-Handed. All competitors will be handicapped using Performance Handicap Racing Fleet system.
What’s in store for the fleet after what has been a pretty wet and stormy start to the summer sailing season? Ummm, perhaps more of the same? On Saturday morning, southwesterly winds in the range of 10 to 15 knots are expected. On Saturday afternoon, southwesterly winds will steadily decline to 5 to 10 knots in response to a weakening gradient. The cold front approaching from the northwest is expected to cross Lake Huron Saturday evening, prompting a shift from southwesterly to northwesterly winds. Winds associated with the passage of the front appear to be rather weak — in the range of 5 to 10 knots. The cold front should reach the southeastern tip of Lake Huron by 8:00 am on Sunday. The passage of this front is a little faster than was forecast earlier. During the day on Sunday, relatively light northwest winds of 5 to 10 knots should prevail. Then, brisk northwest winds in the range of 15 to 20 knots are expected to develop Sunday evening into Monday morning. These strong winds should persist through Monday with the potential for winds to exceed 20 knots late Monday afternoon into evening. In short, no records are going to fall and it would be quite certain that the hugely popular “new course”, the Acura Shore Course will see lots of reaching and minimal beating to windward in short, choppy seas.
This year, the J/120s are sailing the longer Cove Island Course with a big fleet of ten boats participating. All the usual suspects from the Great Lakes J/120 fleet are sailing, including most past winners in class. Class cheerleader Frank Kern will again guide the mighty CARINTHIA to another adventure on the high seas of Lake Huron. Joining them will be FLYIN IRISH (Bill Bresser), FUNTECH RACING (Charlie Hess), HOT TICKET (Mike & Bob Kirkman), the Canadians on IRRESISTIBLE TOO (Gerald & Joanne Hines), JAYHAWKER (Dave Sandin), NAUTI BOYS (Ed Vermet/ John Hughes), NIGHT MOVES (Henry Mistele), PERVERSION (Dennis Detmer) and VICTRIX (Curtis Kime).In PHRF A on the Cove Island Course are also two J/111s, Don Hudak’s CAPERS and Tim Clayson’s UNPLUGGED. If there’s a lot of reaching and fetching in the lighter conditions, watch out for these two boats!
The Short Course has by far the largest contingent of J’s sailing. In the Level 35 Division, there are nine J/35s sailing in the fleet of eleven boats! Many veterans of the race are entered along with some new faces in the crowd. Topping the “old guard” list has to be MR BILL’S WILD RIDE sailed by Bill Wildner. He’s joined by the Bayer/ Bayer/ Barnes trio on FALCON, the Huneke/ Levin duo on GRIFFIN, MAJOR DETAIL (Bill Vogan), PAPA GAUCHO II (Keith Stauber), RAGTIME (Allan Schmidt), SPECIAL K (Melia Carter), the White/Mosher duo on STEELIN GOLD, TIME MACHINE (Robert Gordenker), and WHIPLASH (Gregg Whipple).Sailing in the 12 boat PHRF C Division is the classic navy-blue J/44 SAGITTA, loving maintained and sailed by the team of Jon Somes and Larry Oswald from Bayview YC.
PHRF D division has a remarkably diverse group of boats in their fleet of 16 entries. At the top of the list is the J/111 CHALLWA, entered by German Fuchs Silva from YC Peruano. They will be facing five J/105s that have all been near the top of their class (or outright winners) on several occasions. Their group includes GOOD LOOKIN (Mark Denuyl & Dean Walsh), PTERODACTYL (Mary Symonds), SEND IN THE CLOWNS (Terry Timm), SNAKE OIL (Don Harthorn) and WINDSHADOW (Jim Murphy). Also sailing are the J/109 PHOENIX (Bill Hamilton) and the J/92 KOHATSU (John Stromberg).
Sailing PHRF E division is the J/33 SHENANIGAN skippered by the team of Dick & Dan Synowiec from North Cape YC. In PHRF F division is the J/34 KNEE DEEP sailed by Brett Langolf Deadman’s Flat YC in Sandusky, OH. Then in PHRF G, the J/30 CONUNDRUM is being skippered by Donald King from Lake Shore Sailing Club.
On the Shore Course Cruising (white sails) division, Cruising A class, will be the J/42 DOS MAS sailed by Gary Gonzalez from Grosse Pointe YC. Then, in the Division IV Shore Course Double-handed group is the J/100 VANQUISH sailed by Don Fick and the J/29 PATRIOT led by Lyndon Lattie. For more Bayview Mackinac sailing information
J/70 Italy Update(Turin, Italy)- The J/70 Italian Class has been officially “approved” by the F.I.V.- Italian Sailing Federation. This is an important development for any one-design class in Italy as an officially “sanctioned” class enjoys much wider support and development from all of FIV’s member yacht clubs. Interestingly, the J/70 has become the quickest one-design class to ever be approved by the FIV, most take from 3 to 4 years to achieve such status (plus, J/Boats is the only builder to have more than two one-designs approved, with four now having the same status- J/22, J/24, J/70 and J/80).
The J/70 Italian Class has its Constitution approved by FIV with the Chairman (Andrea Magni), Secretary (Paolo Boido) and Councilor (Carlo Alberini) now constituted as the official Board and Class Executive Committee. In fact, the J/70 Italian Board is looking forward to welcoming all J/70 sailors to the first J/70 European Championship in late September- the 23rd to the 27th! There are already entries from all over Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands) looking forward to being hosted by the famous Fraglia Vela Riva Del Garda on the spectacular Lago di Garda. They anticipate having over 40 boats and, in fact, it will also count as the Italian J/70 Nationals for 2014 (the top Italian boat being declared National Champion). For more J/70 Europeans sailing information. For more Italian J/70 sailing information
Fiesta Cup Preview(Santa Barbara, CA)- The 8th annual Fiesta Cup will take place on July 12th & 13th at Santa Barbara Yacht Club and will host J/70s and J/105s amongst other one-design classes. The regatta is an outgrowth of the amazing “Old Spanish Days Festival” hosted in downtown Santa Barbara that features nearly a week’s worth of cultural festivities celebrating the founding of the town back in the early 1700s. Arts, dancing, parades, food, delicious wines and drinks and folk festival-like bands and entertainers are all part of this bacchanalian festival in “America’s Riviera”. On the sailing side, there’s an awesome luau-styled barbecue that caps off an amazing day of racing Saturday. Sponsors Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard and Cerveza Pacifico ensure the fun keeps on flowing all evening long for those who prefer alternatives to the famous Santa Barbara YC “margaritas”. As Santa Barbarians are prone to say, “Mi Casa es su Casa,” consider this your home!”
As an added incentive for the J/70 competitors participating in this coming weekend’s event, the teams may wish to simultaneously compete for the U.S. Adult Sailing championship qualifier. All they need to do is comply with the eligibility requirements set forth in the US Adult Sailing Championship “conditions” available here.
The J/70 fleet is growing nicely in Santa Barbara and this year’s event has attracted a competitive cross-section of fun-loving 70 sailors from across California. At the preceding week’s Long Beach Race Week, hot local sailor Scott Deardorff (who took 2nd in class and is a World’s qualifier), will again be sailing CAKE and hopes to fend off pretenders to the throne over the weekend. Locals who will be a factor will certainly be past J/24 North American Champion Pat Toole sailing ECLIPSE along with Kenny Kieding’s SMOKE & MIRRORS and Mike Wolfe’s IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING. Visiting sailors from San Francisco include Jeff Thorpe’s BOTTLE ROCKET and Justin Kromelow’s LOOSE LUCY and from Westlake YC is Beverly Burr’s VIVACE crew.
The J/105s will show up in force but so far it looks like Mark Noble’s team on ESCAPADE may be a shoe-in for being top dog in that fleet! Or, perhaps Larry & Becky Harteck will show up again and try to steal all the thunder at the last minute?! For more Fiesta Cup sailing information
Lake Ontario 300 Challenge Preview(Mississauga, Ontario)- The Lake Ontario 300 Challenge is the premier offshore race on Lake Ontario, and it provides a challenging circumnavigation of the lake. A group of double-handed racers originally developed the Lake Ontario 300 Challenge as the ultimate double-handed challenge in 1990 and it still remains the longest annual fresh water race.
The Lake Ontario 300 originated through the interest and vision of several single-handed sailors at Oakville Harbour Yacht Club, now part of Oakville Yacht Squadron, and the Port Credit Yacht Club. Johan Pederson and his group envisioned a long distance race to challenge the skills of those who usually raced short-handed. Johan realized that most often the sailing done on Lake Ontario was by two people and racing double- handed was a good way to improve and challenge skills.
This year’s fleet starts on July 12th and will be challenged by the option of two courses, the Main Duck Island course of 300nm and the shorter Scotch Bonnet Island course of 190nm. Both courses start and finish at Port Credit YC. The one wrinkle is that some boats can compete in the “MEGA-LO 300”, a twice-around LO300 called the LO600! Wow! Seriously.
Sailing this year’s MDI course in IRC division is John McLeod’s J/133 HOT WATER and Murray Gainer’s J/109 LIVELY (a regular top contender in the race). It appears the “big guns” are out in the PHRF-LO Time-on-time division in the “big race”. How this division shakes out is anyone’s guess as there are some many well-sailed teams that it would be fair to say it will become a “horses-for-courses” scenario. Graham Toms’s J/120 THE CAT CAME BACK will hope to be leading a fleet of 35-36 ft J’s like Bob Hesse’s J/111 LAKE EFFECT, Geoff Clarke’s J/105 CASUAL ELEGANCE or any one of the three J/35s- Paul-Angus Bark’s CRIME SCENE, Geoff Roulet’s JEANNIE or Mike Pietz’s SHORTHANDED.
For those in the seriously “no mo honey do” list division, e.g. the LO-600, it’s not enough to go around 300nm on the first circuit, you can delay everything to do at home and go for another circuit around Lake Ontario and declare victory! In that division is also Murray Gainer’s J/109 LIVELY and Geoff Cornish’s J/124 ROULEUR (who is also sailing in the PHRF Solo Challenge for the Main Duck 300 race).
The Scotch Bonnet Race, the PHRF-LO 1 class has the J/35 JAEGER sailed by Leszek Siek and the J/33 DAYBREAK skipper by Bonnie Reib taking on all comers— the betting is that one of the two of them will win! For more Lake Ontario 300 Challenge sailing information
Marblehead NOOD Celebrates 125th!(Marblehead, MA)- This year marks a quite remarkable celebration for those who are accustomed to all things Boston, 1776, Independence Day, Paul Revere’s Ride, the Tea Party, Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, the Green Wall, the Garden and what not. Yes, right in the midst of all that amazing history, lil’ole Marblehead, that quaint little seaside town northeast of Boston city-proper, is ringing every church bell it can find to announce the 125th Anniversary of Marblehead Race Week! Cool. As patriotic and justifiably proud as some Americans can be, the event certainly ranks right up there with other such notable regattas like New York YC’s Annual Regatta or even the Royal Yacht Squadron’s 100 Guinea Cup!
From July 25th to 27th, the “Tres Amigos” of Marblehead sailing- Boston Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club and Eastern Yacht Club- are once again rolling out the red carpet for all sailors in both one-design and PHRF classes. It’s a classic event and one steeped in the grand traditions of social events amongst the three clubs. One often sees various sailing teams whizzing around Marblehead Harbor in their classic Boston Whalers from club to club, betrothed in Bermuda shorts, Ray Bans, and flowing dresses/ skirts of dazzling colors (think Lily Pulitzer) enjoying the local festivities.
Smack in the middle of all the trappings of the “Best of New England” social life is J/70 Fleet 9- they have invited everyone to come down and join them from July 25th to 27th for some fun and frolic! It’s literally the last opportunity to qualify for the 2014 J/70 World Championship in Newport- 2 slots available! Free launching and storage available! Please be sure to register online soon!
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J’s Sailing Worldwide
With the middle of summer now officially upon us in the first week of July, it means that all of Europe is on vacation for eight weeks and traveling anywhere around the European coastline is challenging, if not nearly impossible. So, being on a boat in the Mediterranean, off the Bay of Biscay, in the Alpine lakes or somewhere in the North Sea or Baltic Sea is a great thing! The J/80s decided to have a fun time in Spain on the Med! The J/80 Europeans were recently held in Barcelona, Spain with an amazingly strong fleet of fifty-two boats from ten different countries. The event provided several notable surprises! Just north along the Bay of Biscay, a large armada of J’s tackled the famous 18 Hours d’Arcachon Race sailed around a fixed racetrack within Arcachon Bay, France. There was both elapsed time as well as handicap time winners in the event- from J/22s up to J/122s!
Halfway around the world, the Pacific coast saw three events take place, two starting and one ending. Two epic downwind classics just started this past. Up north, the Vic-Maui Race started off Victoria, BC and the fleet is already heading SSW to Hawaii (more accurately, to the beautiful garden island of Maui). Simultaneously, fellow J sailors also departing American shores for the lush lifestyle of Hawaii were participating in the Pacific Cup- an adventure that starts within San Francisco Bay, clears the headlands west of the Golden Gate Bridge then head SW across the Pacific to Kaneohe, Oahu. Then, also in the Pacific Northwest, the first ever J/Rendezvous Seattle took place with a nice fleet of J’s that ranged from a J/27 up to the J/122- the Gods were smiling as the weekend was blessed with sunny skies and nice breezes!
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:
Jun 28- Round Ireland Race- Wicklow, Ireland
Jul 3- Vic-Maui Race- Victoria, BC
Jul 5-11– CORK Week- Cork, Ireland
Jul 6- Pacific Cup Race- San Francisco, CA
Jul 11-13– Bacardi Newport Regatta- Newport, RI
Jul 12- Bayview Mackinac Race- Port Huron, MI
Jul 12-13– Fiesta Cup- Santa Barbara, CA
Jul 12- Lake Ontario 300 Challenge- Mississauga, Ontario
Jul 14-20– J/70 North Americans- Rochester, NY
Jul 15-19– J/109 North Americans- Newport, RI
Jul 18-20– Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge- Solomons Island, MD
Jul 19-22– Chicago Mackinac Race- Chicago, IL
Jul 23-26– J-Cup Regatta- Hamble, England
Jul 24-27– J/111 North Americans- Harbor Springs, MI
Jul 24-27– Marblehead NOOD Regatta- Marblehead, MA
Jul 26-27– Can-Am Challenge Regatta- Youngtown, NY
Aug 1-3– Hans Fogh J/80 Canadian Open- ABYC- Toronto, ONT
Aug 2-9– Cowes Week- Cowes, England
Aug 2-5– J/111 Europeans- Cowes, England
Aug 4-9– Copa del Rey- Palma Mallorca, Spain
Aug 8-10– J/27 North Americans- Oakville, Ontario
Aug 9-15– J/24 Europeans- Angelholm, Sweden
Aug 14-17– Chester Race Week- Chester, Nova Scotia
Aug 14-17– Penobscot Bay Rendezvous- Rockland, Maine
Aug 19-24– J/111 World Championship- Royal Yacht Squadron- Cowes, England
Aug 21-24– J/35 North Americans- Muskegon, MI
Aug 22-24– J/24 USA Nationals- Beverly YC- Marion, MA
Aug 28-31– Pornic J/80 Cup- Pornic, France
Sep 8-13- J/70 World Championship- New York YC- Newport, RI
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
“Young Guns” EV CATASCHOOL Win J/80 Europeans!French Take Seven of Top Ten Overall!
(Barcelona, Spain)- For many, the 2014 edition of the J/80 European Championship provided perhaps the most upsetting outcome anyone could ever imagine in the history of the J/80 class, one in particular, dominated over the last ten years by the mighty Spanish Armada.
France’s “EV Cataschool” scored a huge surprise at El Balis’ waterfront and won the J/80 European championship for the first time. Quentin Delapierre, who is only 23 years old, led “EV Cataschool” to the J/80 European crown. Despite being the first year in which this French crew sailed in this class, they won the continental title, dominating the water on the last day under heavy winds. In a spectacular last-day performance, the French team, which started the day in third overall, recorded two first places and one second— not only claiming the overall championship, but also winning the junior title!! EV CATASCHOOL finished two points ahead of Simon Moriceau’s INTERFACE CONCEPT, who also gave France the event’s second place- thanks to wrapping up the action with a 10th, a second and a seventh place.The fleet witnessed a thrilling last day of action at Club Náutico El Balís’ waterfront. The 52 boats from 10 different countries sailed in a 15 kts southwest breeze that kept increasing until reaching 25 knots in the last of the three races.
The podium was completed by Catalan team FACTOR ENERGIA, skippered by José María van der Ploeg, who was the 2012 J/80 world Champion and finished second in 2011. FACTOR ENERGIA, second after the penultimate day’s action, had a tough start, being disqualified of in the first race after receiving a black flag for an early start. In the next race, the Catalan team finished ninth and registered a fifth place in the last race of the event to secure the overall third place in its own waters of Club Nautico El Balis, 18 points behind second place.Carlos Martinez’ MOVISTAR, third place at the European 2010 championship, was part of the medal race battle until the end of the event, finishing fourth only five points behind FACTOR ENERGIA. BRIBON MOVISTAR sailed by Marc de Antonio and Sofía Bertrand was fifth after finishing the last day in third, fourth and 10th place, while NEW TERRITORIES, skippered by current J/80 World Champion Hugo Rocha, had to settle for sixth overall, recording on the last day of the event a fourth-place finish followed by a fifth and a second.
Said Quentin Delapierre, the new J/80 European champion, “It was a very tough day, but everything worked out great. We had three excellent races with very good starts that allowed us to take the lead early. Starting the day in third position and finishing as European champions is great. I am very happy with my crew. It was more a team effort than an individual accomplishment. Winning the championship in our first year on this class is sensational. We dedicate this win to our partners and everybody who has supported us”.
The remarkable, most excellent adventure for Delapierre started on the first day of racing, by barely hanging into contention with a disastrous first race. On Day 1, the fleet completed two races with light and shifty winds, often in the 6 kts range. The French dominated the first day, with INTERFACE CONCEPT’s Simon Moriceau taking a 1st and 3rd to top the fleet. Next were the two Spanish teams just two points back- van der Ploeg’s FACTOR ENERGIA (Olympic gold medalist at the Finn class in the 1992 Barcelona Games) with a 5-1 for the day and Carlos Martinez’s MOVISTAR with a 1-4. Amazingly, in fourth was the Russian boat AMELIA, skippered by Andrey Samoylov, and the French team GANJA, helmed by Luc Nadal was in fifth. At this point, EV CATASCHOOL was hanging in the top twenty with a 27-7 finish, hardly on the radar screen of any of the top teams.After the second day of racing, the class act known as van der Ploeg’s FACTOR ENERGIA took control of the fleet by adding a first for a 5-1-1 scoreline in the only race of the day. The light winds made things tough again for fleet at CN El Balís. Unsteady and light winds have been again a big obstacle for the 52 boats and more than 250 sailors from 10 different countries who participate in the event at Club Náutico El Balís. The start of the first and only race held today was given with a delay of more than one hour because of the lack of wind. At the end, the race took place under an average wind speed of six knots. The race committee tried to complete a second race, but at the end, it was not possible.
Day three of the regatta began to produce rather cataclysmic changes in fleet positions due to the fact that three windward-leeward races were completed in a 10-14 kts easterly wind that steadily climbed into the 18-22 kts range. Still clinging to the top position was van der Ploeg’s FACTOR ENERGIA over the top French team, Moriceau’s INTERFACE CONCEPT, only one point behind the leader after posting a 2-5-5. Martínez’s MOVISTAR stayed in third after posting an 8-2-6. However, striking the “Fear Of God” in everyone’s hearts was the young Frenchman, Delapierre on EV CATASCHOOL, posting a fabulously amazing 5-1-1 to rocket into 4th spot overall! Clearly, the French training off La Trinite sur Mer in strong breeze all spring long was paying dividends for the top French teams.By Day Four, it was Moriceau’s team on INTERFACE CONCEPT that overtook the lead with a 1st while van der Ploeg’s crew took a huge hit with a 9th to drop to second. Moreover, the big winner of the day was, guess who? Yes, that’s right, the “young guns” on EV CATASCHOOL, climbing into third just four points back with their 3rd place on the day. The day’s action started on time at noon with a very strong wind from East, which reached a speed of 22-25 kts. By 1600 hrs, the wind was blowing at 32 kts, so the organizing committee decided to suspend the rest of races programmed for the day.
And, so it was. On the last day, “the damn kids” on EV CATASCHOOL kept learning quickly and sailing faster, posting an incredible 2-1-1 to simply smoke their elder statesmen in the J/80 class and walking off with the European Championship. Notably, they only edge out fellow Frenchman Moriceau on INTERFACE CONCEPT by just two points net. The next four places were Spanish- 3rd FACTOR ENERGIA, 4th MOVISTAR, 5th BRIBON-MOVISTAR and 6th- NEW TERRITORIES. The next four places were French- 7th COURRIER JUNIOR (Eric Brezellec), 8th POLE ESPOIR BRETAGNE (Julien Bourgeois), 9th CO-PILOTES NORMANDY ELITE (Arthur Herreman) and 10th SAILING EXPERIENCE (Gael Jaffrezic).There were several significant performances to highlight, one in particular being Russian sailor Andrey Samoylov’s AMELIA team from Pirogovo Sailing Club taking 11th overall in their first J/80 Europeans! Mikael Lindquist’s Swedish team on ROCAD RACING took 13th and Germany’ Sven Vagt on CAMPAIGN sailed nicely to take 17th overall. Top British boat was UK Champion Jonathan Powell on BETTY in 19th place. Top Netherlands teams was Simon Anink sailing the famous JOIE DE VIVRE in 23rd. Sailing photo credits- Luis Fernandez For more J/80 Europeans sailing information
J/Teams Score @ 18 Hours d’Arcachon Race(Arcachon Bay, France)- While other J sailors may be enjoying longer offshore races or basic sailing “around the cans” on “sausage” races all day long, others were enjoying the fun, the offbeat, the zany, the bizarre or simply just the insane. Raced with a fair degree of fanaticism or simply “savoire faire” is the annual 18 hours d’Arcachon Race— a takeoff on the famous 24 hours of LeMans Grand Prix race car event but around the buoys sailing on the Baie d’Arcachon. It’s proven to be a wildly popular event as it supports local sailing as well as local charities and the trophy winners are often secondary to the enormous pools of fans that show up to support their local, charitable causes— yes, even in the middle of the night!
There were a number of J sailors present in the 41st “18 heures d’Arcachon” in Arcachon Bay, France, last weekend making their presence felt in more ways than one. Four of the J/Teams finished in the top five in overall time-ranking and one of the big winners was the J/22 MARLOTTE V, skippered by Phillipe de Galzain, sailing in Division 1.3, repeating her victory from 2013 for the same trophy!! Apparently, that’s a historical achievement since no other boat or team has every completed a “repeat”. OK, do we hear about a “three-peat” in the making? Perhaps so. You can count on the MARLOTTE V team of Phillipe along with crew of Arnaud Lifar, Gilles Marchand, and Olivier Saint-Martin to make it happen and eclipse their previous mark of 60.85nm sailed in 18 hours!The event did not start on a spectacular note. In fact, under a radiant sun in low to zero winds in the first four hours of racing, speculation was running rampant who would survive the next fourteen hours! Many deployed anchors. Some dropped out of the race outright. Some went swimming. Then, the wind kicked in for those most patient. 97 boats started, over 480 people were on the water sailing in the Bay. 17 boats dropped out, perhaps due to a few too many “refreshments” in hot sun! No records were beaten for most laps or greatest distance. No one was surprised.
J sailors must be made of tough leather and steel. And, have enormous patience and a certain “joie-de-vivre” to simply enjoy life as it comes to you. The scoring is based on IRC handicapping after all laps are completed. In that spirit, the J/80 J’EAU sailed by Olivier Soule took third in Groupe 2 class with 61.75nm sailed! In the next division up in Groupe 3, the J/92 SAPAJOU skippered by Christophe Rochereau managed 2nd place with 67.90nm sailed, narrowly beating out fellow classmate, the J/109 POULICO sailed by Francois Lamaignere at 67.34nm sailed. Fifth was the J/122 LORELEI sailed by Alain Catherineau at 65.44nm sailed.In terms of overall IRC handicap performance, the J/92 SAPAJOU was 2nd, the J/109 POULICO was 3rd and the J/122 LORELEI was 5th! A fantastic performance in light to medium breezes across the spectrum for J sailors in one of the most fun French “offshore summertime” events all season long!
For more 18 Hours d’Arcachon Race sailing information
Pacific Cup Update(San Francisco, CA)- The Pacific Cup Yacht Club (PCYC) has started all divisions for the 2014 race from San Francisco Bay to Kaneohe, Hawaii. Sixty boats are on their way in the 18th edition of the “Fun Race to Hawaii”- a 2,070nm adventure from San Francisco to Oahu. The fleet has not exactly had riveting, epic conditions to sail in yet. While the beat out of the Bay is always in a good breeze, many boats even having to reef on their way out under the Golden Gate Bridge, once the fleets get past the infamous “Potato Patch” shoal (home of a zillion Great White Sharks chowing on fat little seals), the wind dies out. And, that’s exactly what has happened to everyone to date. It has been a difficult 72 hours for the first fleet out of the box and the next two groups of starters have faired no better. What everyone does know is that once you get beyond 100nm from shore, a very stiff northerly breeze in the 10-20 kts range is awaiting them, the product of the Pacific High being squeezed by an uncommon Low-pressure system along the shore.
In the Weems & Plath PHRF Division B, the J/105 FREE BOWL OF SOUP from the Corinthian YC Portland, OR (Eric Hopper skipper with crew of Eric Albertson, Scott Davey, Keith Sheets, and Doug Schenk as Navigator) are rapidly crawling their way west to get into that big breeze. In PHRF C Division, the J/109 BLUE CRUSH (Eric, Will, Yong, Ken and Eric Devaney with Scott Prysi as a watch captain) are hot on their heels! Also tagging along at a snail’s pace in PHRF Double-Handed Division is Bob Johnston’s J/92 RAGTIME from Richmond YC, with crew Tracy Rodgers. Their classmate, the J/120 SHEARWATER sailed by Justin & Christina Wolfe from Seattle, WA, are also scouring for breeze headed west.
Finally, the SONNEN BMW Division D ORR fleet, featuring the battle of the J/125s- Greg Slyngstad’s J/125 HAMACHI from Corinthian YC Seattle and Tom Garnier’s J/125 REINRAG 2 from Los Angeles YC are poised to “lock and load” their carbon rocketships and aim them for Hawaii! This will be a fun match-race to watch over 2,070nm! Yellowbrick is providing the tracking For more Pacific Cup sailing information
Vic-Maui Race Update(Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)- Co-hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Lahaina Yacht Club, the Vic-Maui International Yacht Race is officially underway. The horses are on the track for a 2,308nm surfing experience all the way to the gorgeous island of Maui. The fleet had a slot start after leaving Victoria, BC, battling light winds out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. But, once clear of Cape Flattery on the majestic Olympic Peninsula, the entire fleet turned left, headed south and are enjoying spectacular downwind conditions, all with spinnaker set in the 10-20 kts northerlies and headed on their fastest tracks down around the Pacific High. Unlike their friends in the Pacific Cup further south, the Vic-Maui boats practically sail directly into the Pacific High’s strong breezes right off the coast of Washington.
The lone J/Team in the race is John McPhail’s J/160 JAM from Gig Harbor Yacht Club on Fox Island, WA. This veteran team hopes to be a “first to finish” in the keelboat division. Yellowbrick is providing the tracking For more Vic-Maui Race sailing information
Gorgeous J/Rendezvous Seattle!(Brownsville, WA)- Fun was had by all at the inaugural Pacific Northwest J/Boat Rendezvous this past sunny end of June weekend. With the drizzly rain pushing across the bottom of the Olympics towards West Seattle, ten hearty J/Boats risked the weather to find themselves lounging in sunny skies with a warm brisk southerly breeze blowing through the quiet and relaxing Brownsville Marina.
“Ten boats and only one without a Dodger,” laughed Dennis Clark, owner of that one little dodger-less boat, his beautifully restored J/27. The dodger crowd consisted of a J/122 all the way up from Portland, Oregon, a J/40, J/37, J/109, J/35c, 3 each J/35’s and a J/30 to round out the crowd. Sailors enjoyed hours of touring the different boats, taking time to explore and meet each of the owners and finally to vote on the “Best-In-Show” for the PNW J/Boat Rendezvous.
With the beautiful modern J/122, the clean and quick J/109 and the beautifully rebuilt J/27 it was anyone’s guess on the winner and come dinner in the pavilion it was time to add up the votes cast by each and every attendant. Third place went to the J/37 LOLO with her unique design and well oiled interior. Second place went to the re-furbished J/27 with it’s sleek dodger-less deck, modern rigging and clean lines. First place, well ahead of the others was the amazingly rebuilt 1984 J/35 PAZZO. In “like new” condition after her years of being rebuilt, painted and re-powered there was no question in everyone’s mind that this old J/35 was the best one in show.
The J/sailors all experienced the Poker Rally, chicken and steak dinner, prizes and awards all sponsored by Trident Funding. The “Welcome bags” were provided with the help of Peoples Bank on Westlake. The delicious Red and White Wine from the J. Lohr Winery and J/Boat hats for everyone from the friendly owners of J/Boats- the Johnstone Clan. With new sponsors already lined up for next year, the event will be like no other- the J/Rendezvous is primed and ready for years of fun and friends!!“Thank you J/Boat owners for being the most active sailors in the Pacific Northwest,” commented Bob Ross and Ben Braden at Sail Northwest! For more Sailboats Northwest dealer information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* The new owner of J/111 #74 ZYDECO, Burt Benrud from Ponchartrain YC in New Orleans, LA, offered some perspective on racing his new speedster offshore: “We came in First Overall in the 2014 Sawgrass Series, which is a combination of the fleet results for the “Race to the Coast” and the “Gulfport to Pensacola Race” (e.g. a sprint from Gulfport, MS to Pensacola, FL).
On ZYDECO, our strategy was to stay ahead of a J/130, Lesson #1. We wanted to win the Sawgrass Offshore Series. This series is a combination of the 50nm New Orleans to Gulfport race and the 100nm Gulfport to Pensacola race. We did not think our chances were going to be good against Stephen Murray’s Carkeek 40 Decision competing in Class A for the Pensacola race trophies. However, we corrected out in First in Class A over Decision by 56 minutes. ZYDECO took 16:01:32 to complete the 100 mile race. We beat the J/130 by about an hour and a half corrected time.”
Here is the report from the Sun Herald Newspaper, according to Burt:
“At race start time, sea breeze had filled in pretty much from the south. First leg/beat to Ship Island had a lot of oscillations both in direction and velocity (6-8 knots of breeze) and we just tried to position ourselves to have a good lane and stay on the tack closest to the island.
After rounding Ship Island, sea breeze went right and strengthened slightly (9-11 knots) and towards sunset continued further right towards the west. For us it was a question of where the pressure would come from (offshore or inshore) and we expected a further right shift towards the west-northwest per the Sailflow models we were looking at.
Before sunset, we had stayed for the most part on starboard jibe as it was the closest angle to Pensacola. We tried to keep track of the oscillations that were trending right to position ourselves in anticipation of the shift towards the northwest. We lucked out and jibed on to port around 10 PMabout 40 miles from the finish and never jibed again sailing at an AWA of 90 degrees or less for the entire distance to the finish which fit our boat’s “mode” quite well. We never paid much attention to any current. The breeze strength for us stayed in the 6-10 knot range for the evening. We would be rolling at 10-11 knots boatspeed for short bursts and then drop back to 6-7 knots in the lightest lulls.
We saw some big sea grass beds out there. Had to clear our foils a couple of times and had to do one crash jibe to avoid a huge carpet pile of the stuff. We were pretty punchy when the moon rose; I thought it was a kite boarder at first!
We really enjoyed the race we had with ZYDECO, as we both seemed to have the same game plan, so were in contact the entire race. We rated 33 and they rated 39. We crossed the line about 10-11 minutes ahead of them and they corrected out on us by 12 seconds. Great race by Tiara, very cool to see them win the overall corrected. She looked great going upwind on the first leg to Ship Island, very dialed in.
I thought Decision was gone as we approached sunset so was surprised they only beat us by an hour across the line, they must have run into some lighter pressure.”
* The J/Day Regatta in Chicago, IL last week had a wonderful time with their wide-ranging fleet of boats- from a J/70 to J/35 to J/111 to J/133! Here’s a few snap shots to enjoy from their festivities that weekend thanks to sponsors Stearns Boating and Skyway Yacht Works:
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* Here is a great 4th of July, Independence Day Parade story from the Providence Journal. For over 229 years the 4th of July Parade has taken place in Bristol, Rhode Island. This year it had a special “J/Team” wrinkle, Joe DaPonte from CCF Composites and George Borges (both J/Boats builder/ suppliers) combined to supply a boat, a truck and a trailer for a special celebration in this year’s parade. Here’s the heartening story of their volunteer contributions:
On the feast day of its patron saint, St. Elizabeth of Portugal, the parish named after her will send a 2 1/2-ton float bearing a replica of the original church rolling through town in the Fourth of July parade.
The Catholic Church on Wood Street celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and its parishioners decided to put together a float of epic proportions.
“Not too many people have the opportunity to participate in a centennial,” said Joe Paiva, one of the float’s builders. “This is such a huge event.”
The float has three sections: A fiberglass boat anchors the front of the float, bedecked with waves made of blue-green fabric and traditional red, white and blue bunting.
“Our forefathers came here by boat,” said Dickie Sousa, 71, who co-chairs the float committee with Paiva.
A family of five from the parish will represent the early Portuguese families who immigrated to the East Bay. A priest and a nun will welcome them on the adjoining dock as part of the float.
The centerpiece is a 13-foot-tall church, a precise replica of the original St. Elizabeth, with arched windows and “brick” walls created with a Chinese pencil. Standing behind the church will be a sampling of the various professions that the congregation embraces, from a cardiologist to a firefighter.
“This symbolizes the people who come into the church and come out to perform community service,” said Jim Wilson, 73, a firefighter and parishioner.
The St. Elizabeth motto — “Inspired by the past, envisioning the future” — is painted on the sides of the float. To illustrate the church’s commitment to the future, about 25 young parents and their children will march behind it.
A core of 15 church members began working on the float in March, using the boat company of the Joe DaPonte family of Bristol (CCF Composites where the J/70, J/88, J/95, J/100 and J/111 are built). This week, the organizers were putting the finishing touches on the float, laying strips of real grass and testing the trailer hookup.
George Borges loaned his truck and trailer.
St. Elizabeth, a congregation of about 1,800 parishioners, is not one of those Sunday-only kind of churches. Parishioners run a weekly food pantry, deliver food baskets at Thanksgiving and Christmas and help immigrants get their citizenship.
“Remember when if a church needed a roof, someone from the church community would step forward and get it done? We’re that sort of church,” Wilson said.
The Bristol Fourth of July celebration is the oldest in America, attracting tens of thousands of people. This year’s parade will include bands and drum corps from all over the United States.
Prizes are awarded for the most patriotic, the most original and the most beautiful floats in two categories: commercial and non-commercial. There are also awards for top military honors and best in parade.
In 229 years, the parade has rarely been canceled.
But this year, Hurricane Arthur is barreling up the coast, threatening to drown the day’s festivities. The parade’s organizers were to meet Thursday before making decisions about any change in plans (note- it went on as scheduled).
The St. Elizabeth folks aren’t the least bit worried, however. “If it rains,” Wilson said, “we have a boat.” Thanks for Providence Journal’s Linda Borg contribution
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/
* 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.
* 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 athttp://www.sailblogs.com/
* 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).
– 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.