Announcing NEW J/112E!
(Newport, RI)- The J/112E is the newest addition to J/Boats’ “E” Series of versatile performance sailing yachts. The “E” is for elegance and evolution in performance cruising design. Why settle for anything less than sailing with comfort, style and speed?
Dual Purpose Versatility
36 feet is a magic size in the J/Boats line-up. With a spacious two-cabin accommodation plan and a comfortable, ergonomic cockpit, the J/112E is as well suited for the annual cruise as she is sprinting to Mackinac Island or short-handing through rough weather. Versatility in sailboat design means not only a sailboat that can do many things, but one that can do them across a wide range of conditions.
Bring The Outdoors In!
The J/122E (interior picture shown here) set the style trend for the “E” series, taking an already proven light and airy interior plan and adding significantly more natural light by way of large port lights and optional hull ports. The J/112E redefines this concept in 36 feet with a spacious two cabin/ aft head layout with 6’3” headroom that promises to be as comfortable in port as she is at sea. The varnished walnut joinerwork adds just the right proportion of classic wood accents without taking away from the incredible sense of open space.
Upwind is a Breeze – Downwind is a Blast
As a famous yacht designer once said, “a barn door with a bed sheet can sail downwind, but only true sailboats go to windward.” The J/112E joins her sisterships, the J/97E and J/122E, as an exceptional upwind performer. V-shaped bow sections provide superior directional stability and reduced slamming in waves. Freeboard forward and topside flare help to keep the deck dry. A long waterline combined with a low vertical center of gravity results in a smooth, sea-kindly motion – more like that of a 40 footer.
J/112E is a moderate displacement design with a high aspect, non-overlapping sailplan. This efficient set-up provides ample sail power in light winds (while most others are motoring), and easy to down-shift options when the wind builds. The J/112E is no exception. All one needs is a mainsail and 105% jib to enjoy easy, high performance sailing in winds from 5 to 25 knots. Plus, J’s are renowned for being able to sail well under mainsail alone, fun for harbor tours or safe sailing in storm conditions. For downwind fun with minimal effort and crew, one can deploy the asymmetric spinnaker from the retractable carbon sprit.
Efficient & Comfortable Cockpit
Sailors spend more time in the cockpit than anywhere else on board. The J/112E cockpit is second to none, embracing the extraordinary cockpit ergonomics pioneered by the J/111. The single large diameter wheel allows the helmsman to sit outboard to easily see the jib telltales and waves. With the J/112E main and jib controls within easy reach, the driver can adjust the sails upwind without leaving the wheel or troubling the crew – who might otherwise be relaxing in the comfortable cockpit seats. For more J/112E sailboat information
SAILING Champions League Preview
World Childhood Foundation Joins As Partner
(Copenhagen, Denmark)– For the first time in international sailing history one club will be nominated as the best sailing club at the newly established “SAILING Champions League” (SCL) in Copenhagen taking place from 17th to 19th October 2014. The hosts from the national German sailing league (Segel-Bundesliga), the Danish sailing league (Sejlsportsligaen) and the Royal Danish Yacht Club are expecting 24 clubs from 15 nations. In addition to the European Sailing Federation as patron, the World Childhood Foundation (Childhood) has joined the event as the Charity Partner.
The competition starts this weekend in Denmark, following the same format of national sailing leagues in Germany and Denmark. The great interest in the SCL demonstrates that the organizers from Hamburg were correct in assuming that competition between clubs is a great social as well as international sailing event.
The participating clubs are sending a crew of four of their best sailors and hope to be the first winners of the sought-after “ROBBE & BERKING SAILING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHY“. Robbe & Berking has donated a five kg (11 lbs) silver bowl as a perpetual trophy. The clubs will sail in fleet races on the majestic waterfront of Copenhagen on eight J/70 one-design boats.
The clubs will be sailing right in front of the famous “Little Mermaid” at the entrance of the Danish capital. 45 races are planned in three days, each of the races lasting between twelve and fifteen minutes. Thanks to the broadcasting of technology partner SAP, you can follow the races live on sailing-championsleague.com. The expert commentators are Andy Rice from the UK and Marcus Bauer from Germany – two sailing experts and former competitors in the Olympic 49er.
This worldwide sailing premiere combines the sport of sailing with a charity event for “Childhood”, supported by SAP. “SAP SE has been a founding partner of the ‘World Childhood Foundation’ since the beginning and we are happy to be also connected via the sport of sailing now,” said Stefan Lacher, Head of Technology Sponsorships of SAP SE.
“Childhood” was founded in 1999 by H.M. Silvia the Queen of Sweden. “Childhood has a close partnership with the sport of sailing for many years. The SCL is a great new possibility to sail for children in need. Together, we will ensure that more children have a happy childhood and therefore we want to further develop this partnership,” says Susanne Labonde, Executive Director of Childhood Germany. So far, the 24 clubs have raised over 250,000 Euros! For more SAILING Champions League information
The Most Beautiful Course in the World?
J/Teams Ready To Roll in Rolex Middle Sea Race
(Gzira, Malta)- American tycoon Ted Turner once described the Rolex Middle Sea Race course, a 606 nm route circumnavigating Sicily and its neighboring islands, as the ‘most beautiful in the world’. It is a tour that on October 18, a fleet of 123 yachts is expected to start, eclipsing the current record of 99 entries set last year.
The Rolex Middle Sea Race has seen USA boats take the title on four occasions and, for one, George David’s RAMBLER set the record in 2007 (47:55:03). Ironically, as avid J/24 sailors in their pasts, both David and Ken Read (America’s Cup & Volvo Ocean Race veteran and 5x J/24 World Champion) were on board for the record run.
“The front arrived with five visible water spouts, perfectly defined and rather large, they brought a big lump to your throat,”‘ commented Ken Read after finishing. “The third appeared in front of us and the last two formed within a couple hundred yards of Rambler. The water would start foaming and spinning in a 50 metre circle right in front of our eyes. A wild sight that I will not forget for a long time.”
“Then came the breeze, and with it, 25-57 knots of wind for the next 20 hours. The front hatch blew off its hinges and about two hours of bailing followed this little glitch in the program. As soon as you thought you had a breather, another squall hit. Right up to the finish, where we had 53 knots of wind five minutes before entering the harbour in Malta. During one very violent squall we were literally flying off the waves – surfing at over 30 knots.
“When George bought Rambler he asked that we sail in events that would show him how tough the oceans can be – ‘Well George, I think we nailed that one’.”
While the fleet of J/Teams participating in this year’s RMSR may not break the outright record, some of their teams have been known to break another even more notable record, the ability to win their classes and overall a number of times.
The event’s fascination is largely drawn from its alluring, 608-nautical-mile racecourse – a rigorous anti-clockwise loop around Sicily that introduces numerous “corners” that present changing and complex meteorological shifts. The route includes the deep azure waters around Sicily including the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, as well as Pantelleria and Lampedusa. One of the most stunning vistas is Stromboli, the active volcano that is a course mark.
Godwin Zammit, Commodore of the Royal Malta YC, commented about the success of the Rolex Middle Sea Race: “The interest in the race has been growing year on year and with entries up over 20% on last year’s record entry, the Royal Malta YC organized additional berths for competing yachts. Including family and friends of the competing crews, we estimate that well over a thousand people will be visiting Malta for the race. There are many reasons why the race is proving so popular, the Royal Ocean Racing Club has a long association with the race and it is now part of their season’s points championship and many of the 18 yachts that have come from Great Britain are doing so for that reason and there is a strong contingent from Italy with 33 yachts visiting from nearby.”
Last year, IRC 3 division came to a dramatic conclusion with David Anastasi’s J/133 OILTANKING JUNO winning the class by under three minutes. The class of over 25 yachts has strength and depth, including the class winner of the 2014 Cape to Rio Race (Iskareen) and Class winner of the 2014 RORC Caribbean 600, the British entry Sleeper.
IRC 4 division has over 30 entrants and is arguably the most competitive class. The most successful Maltese yacht of the modern era will be racing in IRC 4. In 2011, Lee Satariano’s J/122 ARTIE, co-skippered by Christian Ripard and with an all-Maltese crew, won the race overall! ARTIE will be returning to the race course this year with a real chance of winning. However, last year the outstanding Maltese entry was Aaron and Edward Gatt Floridia’s J/122 OTRA VEZ, which was the winner of IRC 4 and the first Maltese boat after time correction. Yet another J/122, DAMACLE sailed by Roy Caramagno from Italy, will be joining the fray and hopes to continue the J/122 tradition of winning class and overall!
Not to be outdone by her larger sisterships, the J/109 JARHEAD, sailed by Greg Nasmyth from Great Britain, hopes to eclipse IRC 5 Class and give the rest of the big boys a run-for-the-money overall! It has been done before! Thanks for contribution from Louay Habib. Find Rolex Middle Sea Race on Facebook
For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing information
J/70 Monaco Winter Series Announcement
(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- The Yacht Club de Monaco is inviting all J/70 sailors from across Europe to join them for their Sportsboat Winter Series being held in Monaco. While the rest of northern Europe may be fending off winter gales and sub-zero temperatures, the wonderfully warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea provide a winter retreat along the sunny south coast of the French, Monagesque and Italian Riviera’s. Perhaps more importantly, instead of withdrawing into a cave up north and lighting fires to stay warm, you could be sailing off the gorgeous YC Monaco and getting some much needed practice for their famous Trophée Credit Suisse Primo Cup in February as well as the upcoming J/70 Europeans in October 2015.
The J/70 Winter Series schedule is the following:
- PART 1 : 24 – 26 October 2014
- PART 2 : 12 – 14 December 2014
- PART 3 : 16 – 18 January 2015
- PART 4 : 06 – 08 February 2015 (the Primo Cup Regatta)
- PART 5 : 06 – 08 March 2015
Note- the J/70 Worlds are in La Rochelle, France from July 6th to 11. Then, the J/70 Europeans are from October 12th to 17th, 2015 back in Monaco! In fact, the J/70 Class President at YC Monaco, Jacopo Carrain, commented, “We have the pleasure of inviting all J/70 sailing teams to participate in our Winter Series and, best of all, the J/70 teams may keep their boats at our YCM facilities “free of cost” all winter long- October to March! We hope you can sail with us, please contact me for more details.” You may speak with Carrain at ph# +37797979696 or correspond with his email- jcarrain@j70ca-monaco.com Formore J/70 Monaco Winter Series sailing information
J/Sailing News
The Sun Never Sets on J’s Sailing Worldwide
This past week saw a few milestones pass by in the world of one-design and offshore racing. For one, there were two historic performances in events taking place in Asia. The Asian Sailing Games hosted by the Koreans in Incheon saw an epic performance by the Singaporean team in J/80 Match Racing. Then southwest of them, the Royal Hong Kong YC was hosting its China Coast Regatta and two J/Teams (a J/111 and J/109) turned in fantastic scores to surprise many of their friends in Southeast Asian sailing circles.
Then, over in Europe, a new record may have been set for the single largest starting line in the world, with nearly 1,900 sailboats setting off on the season-ending Barcolana #46 race off Trieste, Italy. Another astonishing performance took place off Lorient, France where a large fleet of J/80s were sailing the next event in their J/80 Coupe de France season-long circuit. Then, for the first time, J/70s were sailed in the
Swedish Master of Masters Regatta at Bastad, Sweden with 39 teams and numerous Olympic Medalists, World and European Champions amongst the fleet of talented sailors. Next, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series and Big Boat Championship on the Solent, hosted by Hamble River Sailing Club, enjoyed an Indian Summer weekend (like their friends in France) that simply astounded everyone.
If the Asian and European sailing world had some amazing events taking place, another famous one for the Gulf of Mexico also took place, the incredibly popular Harvest Moon Regatta that is sailed from Galveston Bay, Texas to Port Aransas on the Gulf of Mexico. Read the report below from Keith Magnussen aboard a J/120! Up north on Long Island Sound, the Larchmont YC hosted Storm Trysail Club Foundation’s IOR (Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta), an event that has become synonymous with the end-of-season finale for the dozens of J/Boat owners that support the event sailed in one-design classes of J/105s, J/109s, J/44s and PHRF/ IRC classes. Nearly 500 college students from across America and Europe (France) enjoyed sailing this international event over the long Columbus Day weekend!
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:
Oct 24-26- J/105 Masters Regatta- San Diego, CA
Oct 24-26- Seattle Grand Prix Regatta- Seattle, WA
Oct 25-26- J/70 Fall Brawl- Annapolis, MD
Oct 25-28- China Cup International Regatta- Shenzhen, China
Oct 30- Nov 2- French J/80 Nationals- La Rochelle, France
Oct 31- Nov 2- J/105 Lipton Cup- San Diego, CA
Nov 1-2- J/70 Chesapeake Championship- Deltaville, VA
Nov 1-2- J/Fest Southwest- Lakewood YC, Houston, TX
Nov 8- Hot Rum Series #1- San Diego, CA
Nov 10-16- J/24 South American Championship- La Punta, Chile
Nov 16- Around Island Race- Hong Kong, China
Nov 19-22- J/105 International Invitational- Hamilton, Bermuda
Nov 22- Hot Rum Series #2- San Diego, CA
Dec 4-7- J/22 Jamaica Jammin’ Regatta- Montego Bay, Jamaica
Dec 6- Hot Rum Series #3- San Diego, CA
Jan 18-23- Key West Race Week- Key West, FL
For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.
Singapore Strikes Gold!
Win Asian Games J/80 Match Race!
(Incheon, Korea)- Singapore’s sailors bagged their third gold medal at the Incheon Asian Games after the J/80 Match Racing team beat South Korea 2-0 in a best-of-three final on Wednesday afternoon.
The five-man crew of Maximilian Soh, Andrew Paul Chan, Russell Kan, Christopher Lim, and Justin Wong had reached the final after winning 15 of their 16 match races in the nine-team round robin preliminary stage. They then beat Malaysia 3-0 in a best-of-five final.
Commenting on the team’s performance in Incheon, Dr Ben Tan, President of the Singapore Sailing Federation said, “Our sailors were up against the big boys of Asia, such as China, Korea, Japan, and they did Singapore proud. The hard work of our sailors and the attention to detail of the support team brought us this excellent set of results. Singapore Sailing will continue to build on our breadth and depth so that we can continue to deliver for Singapore.”
Singapore’s sailors now have three golds, two silvers, and two bronzes so far at the on-going Asian Games. The results of Match Race Finals were: 1st Singapore, 2nd Republic of Korea, 3rd Japan and 4th Malaysia.
Thanks must also go out to Red Dragon Yachts, the International J/80 One-design builder in China for their fantastic support and ensuring the delivery of new, evenly-matched J/80s for the regatta! Thanks for contribution from Chua Siang Yee. For more J/80 Asian Games sailing information
Myrgren Is J/70 Swedish Master of Masters!
(Bastad, Sweden)- The London 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Laser class, Rasmus Myrgren, sailed to victory in the Swedish Master of Masters Regatta with his team of Thomas Rahm, Rahm Axel and Carl Sylvan. Over the two-day event held on October 11th and 12th, 39 teams participated (all champions of one class or another), sailing 25 races in the 8-boat fleet of evenly-matched J/70s.
According to Myrgren, “I had a good crew with me in the boat and we coordinated nicely in all the races. We focus really hard when it comes boatspeed and worked hard to choose our own path through the fleet.”
For the ninth year, the top Swedish champions selected each year in different sailing classes gathered for the Master of Masters Championship. The two-day event in Bastad today is one of the most prestigious in Swedish sailing. This year 34 Swedish champions and five wild card entries approached the starting line, ready to take to the sea and figure out who is the best of the best; who is the master’s master! The courses were short and concentrated, tactics and maneuvers must be in top form and mistakes were very costly. The format was a round-robin on Saturday followed by two-semifinals Sunday morning; with the top three of each semi going into the final championship round at 1400 hrs Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a special feeling to win the Masters championship, where most of Sweden’s best sailors are competing – and it feels fantastic! The whole event is like a big party for us sailors. We have a chance to talk about past seasons and experiences, making new friends and enjoying the camaraderie,” continued Myrgren, who also won the Swedish Master of Masters Championship in 2012 with essentially the same crew!
Stefan Rahm, Swedish Sailing Federation’s Sports Director, was very pleased with this year’s races and believes that the final round was the tightest and most exciting seen over the past few years. He said, “the races have ended perfectly and we are excited about how the weather has shifted in a favorable way during the pasta few days. First, a little more sunshine sailing in relatively light winds, and now during the final day with better winds and shifts, which meant that the sailors got a bigger challenge. In addition, our live streaming on the web, where this year we invested even more than in previous years, has exceeded expectations. It is a successful venture and a way for us to spread the sport of sailing to more and more people. Sailing is an exciting sport and the champions have a national audience (both on live TV and live on the webcast). This was a fantastic opportunity to follow the races and learn from the commentators.”
Finishing behind Myrgren’s GKSS team in second was the KSSS team (Royal Swedish YC) that included Anton Dahlberg, Victor Cuikerman, Per Thorsell and Nils Dahlberg. Taking third from Stockholm YC was the team of Johan Qviberg, Jakob Gustafsson and Martin Nilsson. For more J/70 Swedish Master of Masters Regatta sailing information
J/Teams Love College Big Boat Regatta!
(Rye, New York)- Over 430 college sailors raced on 52 owner-coached keel-boats over Columbus Day Weekend (October 11-12) in the Storm Trysail Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta (IOR) sailed in Western Long Island Sound. The event is organized by the Storm Trysail Foundation (STF) and the Larchmont Yacht Club and this year was led by Regatta Chairman Barry Gold. The goal of the IOR is to introduce dinghy sailors to the fun and teamwork of big boat racing, which is a new aspect of the sport to many dinghy sailors. It also gives college sailors with big boat skills a chance to compete in some of the best-prepared boats around. The 52-boat fleet was divided up into five classes: 12 IRC 32’-43’ boats, five J/44s, 13 J/109s, 12 J/105s and 10 PHRF boats.
A team from the US Naval Academy won the IRC Class sailing Ron Richman’s J/133 ANTIDOTE. After 6 races, their score line read 1-1-1-2-1-4 for a scorching 10 pts. Finishing fourth in class was Mike Bruno’s J/122 WINGS sailed by Bucknell University.
The five boat J/44 one-design class was won by the University of Michigan sailing Phil Gutin’s BEAGLE, followed by the US Merchant Marine Academy sailing Joerg Esdorn & Duncan Hennes’ KINCSEM in second. Taking third was Mass Maritime Academy onboard Len Sitar’s VAMP.
The College of Charleston won the thirteen-boat J/109 class sailing Bob Siegel’s PAX 3 with a blistering hot scoreline of 4-1-1-1-2 for just 9 pts. Not far behind in 2nd place was Mass Maritime Academy’s Team #2 sailing aboard Rick Lyall’s STORM. The past EDHEC Sailing Cup winners, Arts et Metiers Paris Tech, took third sailing Jack Forehand’s STRATEGERY- this French team was the best result of all foreign entries. Fourth was University of Rhode Island aboard Jonathan Rechtshaffer’s EMOTICON and in fifth was the other French entry, the EDHEC Business School sailing on Bob Schwartz’s NORDLYS.
Roger Williams University won the twelve-boat J/105 class sailing Jeremy Henderson’s CONUNDRUM that also posted to a white-hot tally of 1-2-2-3-1 for a mere 9 pts. Second was Boston University aboard Rob Alexander’s YOUNG AMERICAN and in third was the University of Wisconsin racing Josh Burack’s PEREGRINA. In this highly competitive fleet, Princeton University took fourth on Gary Myer’s MAGIC and rounding out the top five was US Naval Academy 2 onboard Za Jelliffe’s ARETE.
In PHRF Class, Iris Vogel’s J/88 DEVIATION was sailed by SUNY Maritime College into 4th overall and Rick Oricchio’s J/120 ROCKET SCIENCE saw St Mary’s College of Maryland take 5th. The overall winner came from this class, the University of Toledo onboard TROUBADOR.
Interestingly, while your high point score divided by most points possible in your class currently determines the “overall winner”, it does nothing to eliminate the “skew” inherent in less competitive classes with greater disparity between the boats. It was heard over the jungle telegraph that by far the most competitive classes were the one-design fleets of J/105s, J/109s and J/44s. It also stands to reason these one-design classes are also the most closely “optimized” in terms of relative speeds (ratings notwithstanding). On the statistical premise that the top 50% of any fleet is a good measure of “fleet competitiveness”, it’s interesting to see the J/105 and J/109 classes, in particular, score very high on that index (an average of the top 50% efficiency scores). On that basis, the overall winner by the narrowest of margins was Roger Williams University on the J/105 CONUNDRUM followed by the College of Charleston on the J/109 PAX 3!!
Rick Lyall, the owner of the J/109 STORM, which was sailed by Mass Maritime said, “Over the years I have watched the talent level of the sailors grow. This year the top three J/109 teams were unbelievably well-sailed. The College of Charleston team was not only flawless in their boat handling, but also superior in their tactics. It seemed like every time our boat and their boat came together, the Charleston team had the advantage. They definitely deserved to win the biggest class of the regatta.”
The J/109 class had the most international entries, which included three of the four Canadian teams and two teams from France. Finishing third in the J/109 class was the team from Arts et Métiers from Paris. As the winners of the 46th EDHEC Sailing Cup raced last April in Les Sables-d’Olonne France, their team won an all expense paid trip (except for air fare) to the IOR thanks to the joint venture between the STF and the EDHEC Sailing Cup.
The EDHEC Sailing Cup is the world’s biggest college sailing regatta that draws over 1,500 sailors and 180 boats and the joint venture with the STF is designed to bring the top college sailors in the world together. As a result of being the overall winner of the IOR, the team from the University of Toledo has won an all expenses paid (except for air fare) to the 47th EDHEC Sailing Cup in La Rochelle, France to be sailed from April 24th to May 2nd 2015. All US collegiate teams are welcome.
The IOR is extremely popular with both the sailors and boat owners. An example comes from Bob Schwartz, owner of the J/109 NORDLYS who wrote, “The regatta was a great, as well as, an important event as usual. The nicest part is that you immediately realize that college age sailors are the most wonderful kids you would ever want to meet. Smart, polite, capable, etc. Our sport attracts the best and we have to keep them involved.” Sailing photo credits- Howie McMichael Storm Trysail College Big Boat Sailing on Facebook For more STC International Offshore Regatta sailing information
A Solent Indian Summer Sailing Weekend?
Garmin Hamble Winter Series #2 Report
(Hamble, England)- There might have been a mixed bag of weather conditions but the central Solent hosted some great, close racing for the second weekend of the 2014 Garmin Hamble Winter Series, this week comprising the first of two MDL Hamble Big Boats championship weekends. To say the weather was benign might be the understatement of the week- t-shirts, shorts and shades for many aboard the J/111s, J/109s, J/88s and J/97s!
For the second race of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series the forecast predicted a light Northeasterly wind that would build to around 17 knots as the day went on, and so it proved, with all classes fitting in two races from a start-line near Hill Head.
In the GHWS IRC O Class, the top three J/111s are having a close fight for the podium. After posting two 2nds for the weekend, Martin Dent’s JELVIS lies second overall. Just behind tied on points at 10 apiece are Chris Body’s ICARUS (2-4-4) and Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II (4-3-3).
The IRC 2 Class has a trio of J/88s sailing IRC as a group for the first time and they’re learning quite quickly how to make them go faster! At this stage, Paul Ward’s EAT SLEEP J REPEAT lies 3rd overall with a 2-7-6 and just 2 pts back is Ivan Trotman’s JOJO with a 4-8-5.
IRC 3 saw a first and second apiece for two J/97s, Andy Howe’s BLACKJACK II and Charles Ivill’s ETB TYES/ JUST LIKE THAT, who now sit a point apart at the top of the leaderboard. John Noe’s La Nef IV had two thirds.
In the J/109s, Roger Philips’ DESIGNSTAR 2 extended her lead over the rest of the fleet with another two first places. Chris Burleigh’s JYBE TALKIN is sitting on second with a 3-4-4 followed by Adrian Wheal’s JOLLY JACK TAR with a 9-2-2.
Race day sponsor was the Bugle Pub, who generously provided competitors present at the prize-giving with £30 vouchers for food and drink.
MDL Hamble Big Boat Championship
The weekend also hosted the first of two MDL Hamble Big Boat Series weekend, featuring racing for Farr 45s, J/111s and IRC0 and 1 classes keen to finish off their season with some close and exciting racing. On Saturday, the fleet sat under AP for 3 hours awaiting the breeze, but eventually their persistence paid off and a light breeze filled in which allowed the race team to fit in two races on a short windward-leeward course. The Big Boats raced with the main Garmin Hamble Winter Series on Sunday.
The J/111 class was topped by Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG, which scored two firsts and two seconds to place them 6 points clear of Chris Body’s ICARUS. Martin Dent’s JELVIS finished the weekend equal on points with ICARUS but a place behind her on countback, in third.
The MDL Hamble Big Boat Championship returns for its final weekend in a fortnight. Next weekend sees the third Garmin Hamble Winter Series race day and the final weekend of the Doyle Sails Hamble One Design Championships. Sailing photo credits- B. Malas For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing information
J/Teams Enjoy Barcolana!
(Trieste, Italy)- For all seafaring and sailing lovers and for those who cannot miss one of the world’s unique spectacles, you must take a special trip to Trieste, Italy in the very northeastern parts of the gorgeous Adriatic Sea on the second Sunday of October. The event is called the “Barcolana”, it almost always has the most number of boats sailing in an international regatta on the Mediterranean; it’s a week-long celebration on land and at sea that turns Trieste into the “European Capital of sailing”. Perhaps the most famous part of the experience is to watch the starting line of nearly two thousand boats under the Victory Lighthouse. Just about anything that floats in the Mediterranean is there led by helmsmen that are used to competing in world championships, or just about any amateur skipper or holiday sailor who has fallen under the spell of an event that every seafarer must take part in, at least once in their lives!
The story of the Barcolana is one of those you do not expect, because nobody knows what is the key ingredient for the success of this unique event. The Barcolana was born by chance, as a simple end of summer regatta, 44 years ago. For this year’s Barcolana #46, 1,877 teams registered with the local host, the Società Velica di Barcola and Grignano.
For the first time in the history of the Barcolana, the finish line was just off Piazza Unità d’Italia. The new course of this year’s race was designed with one aim only: to make the regatta more enjoyable for the competitors and more impressive for the spectators on land. That is why the start was closer to the shore, the first leg was shorter, the buoy along the “return course” towards Miramare was close to the Castle and the finish line was in the city centre in front of the enthusiastic spectators watching the Barcolana Regatta.
Recognizing that the two mile long line may not be able to accommodate all the boats, many sailors accustomed to the race start off with extra fenders hanging off either side of their boats! A record number of 34 J/Teams participated this year with the J/24s having the largest single class of boats in the whole race- 23 boats in Class 7 that had 91 boats in total. After the smoke, dust, crunched fiberglass and bent pulpits cleared the starting area, the following J/24s made it relatively unscathed to the finish line: CAPITAN NEMO sailed by Stocco Thomas from YC Vicenza was 21st, CLEANPORT 3 skippered by Paolo Boschi took 23rd.
The J/70 and J/80 sailors put in the best performances by J/Teams. Sailing in Class 8 with 40 boats were two J/70s, SPIN ONE sailed by Giovanni & Pietro Saccomani took a very commendable 9th place followed by the German team aboard BELOS sailed by Paul Fleissner from Worthersee YC, finishing 24th. In the 60 boat fleet that were sailing Class 6, the J/80 MY WAY skippered by Jurij Hubscher from YC Portoroz took 12th!
Of the bigger J’s, the J/120 J-ONE MILLEGOR sailed by Lorenzo Simeone took 20th in a fleet of 71 boats in Class 1. And, in the 83 boat Class 3, the J/109 SAGOLA 60 helmed by William Ferrisutti placed 14th while the J/105 NEMBO SPEED led by Piero Fornasaro de Manzini managed a 16th place. Congratulations to all for good performances and for having stayed out of trouble! For more Barcolana Regatta sailing information
J/111 & J/109 Dominate China Coast Regatta
(Daya Bay, Shenzen, China)- Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s flagship China Coast Regatta took place from 10 to 12 October this year, following a tried and tested three-day format that offered competitors a variety of windward/ leeward and islands courses in the waters to the south of Hong Kong Island and west of Lamma Island.
Headlined by Audi for the first time since its inception in 1993, the regatta attracted nearly 40 competitors in four classes and seven divisions, with the majority of entrants sailing IRC Racing class. In the most competitive class in the entire event, the IRC 2 Division, the J/111 MOJITO skippered by Simon Blore handily won their nine-boat class with a very consistent 4-8-1-4-1-2-1 for 13 pts net.
Taking second in IRC 2 was a perennial top performer on the Hong Kong offshore racing circuit, the J/109 WHISKEY JACK sailed by Nick Southward. The “Jack” started off strongly, leading their class up until race five, but couldn’t hold off the hard-charging crew aboard MOJITO. In the end, WHISKEY JACK’s scores of 2-3-3-1-7-1-5 for 15 pts net secured their team a solid second place performance. In fact, Southward’s team may have benefitted from their early “practice race”, the newly created Audi Hong Kong Kettle race- a new team racing competition that included an “Around Hong Kong Islands Race” the day preceding the China Coast Regatta. The timing offered entrants the double benefit of an extra day’s acclimatization to the region’s sailing conditions, coupled with a great opportunity to see the wilder parts of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Kettle Race Chairman, Drew Taylor, explained the rationale of the Kettle event schedule, saying “Hong Kong in October provides very good sailing conditions with breeze typically in the high teens, temperatures in the high 20’s and a great combination of geometric and island courses.” In the end, the J/109 WHISKEY JACK sailed by Nick Southward took advantage of the opportunity, took in some fabulous views of Hong Kong Island, and won the inaugural Team 3 Race Class in the Kettle Race! China Coast Sailing Regatta on Facebook Sailing photo credits- Guy Nowell/ RHKYC
For more China Coast Regatta sailing information
J/80 Eclipse Over Lorient?
INTERFACE CONCEPT Flies Over Moon!
(Lorient, France)- This year’s Lorient J/80 Open was an epic on more than two elements, the weather and the winner! To begin with, the thirty-four J/80 teams from across France could not have been more delighted with the sailing conditions on Friday and Saturday, it was near “picture-perfect” Indian Summer sailing with warms breezes from the SSW blowing from 10 to 15 kts each day. Despite a front rolling in on Sunday, the sailors were treated to a solid 10-20 kts NE breeze that enabled the teams to “get up on the step” and hop into planing mode downwind for last and final race of the regatta.
The other epic element was the sheer dominance of Simon Moriceau’s well-practiced team on INTERFACE CONCEPT. Talk about an eclipse of the harvest moon? You might as well have talked about Moriceau’s eclipse of the J/80 teams at this year’s Lorient J/80 Open. Sailing to five straight bullets in a row, then backing off the gas to post a 5th, the INTERFACE CONCEPT team (Moriceau plus Christian Ponthieu, Jean Queveau, Hugo Kerhascoet and Herve Corlay) counted only 10 pts in 6 races for an equally impressive 1.66 average score!
It all started on Friday in the 12 kts SW breeze. The first start had multiple general recalls, including a black flag start. Right out of the starting gate, Moriceau’s team took a first, followed by SAFRAN (Morgan Lagravière) in second then CHARIOT PLUS/ VANNES UTILITAIRE (Matthew Solomon/ Quentin Delapierre) in third. The start of the second race of the day went off without a hitch, with teams following the lighter breeze off to the left. Behind Moriceau’s transom disappearing into the mist beyond, was Frederic Hauville’s ECOLE NAVALE CG29 team in second, followed by Alice Metais’ crew on CHARLY in third.
At this point, with Moriceau’s INTERFACE CONCEPT leading with a 1-1, it was Morgan Lagravière’s SAFRAN that was hanging close by in second with a 2-4, followed by top woman skipper Alice Métais’ CHARLY (daughter of the famous Pierre Metais) in third sitting on a 6-3.
Saturday saw another extraordinary day of racing, with four additional races scored for the fleet! More Indian Summer sailing! The breeze was a steady 10-15 kts, but very shifty compared to the previous day. Again, Moriceau sailed off with a 1-1-1-5 to establish a dominant lead over the fleet. At this stage, it was a battle for second between CHARLY, CHARIOT PLUS/ VANNES UTILITAIRE, SAFRAN and Eric Brezellec’s COURIER JUNIOR.
With just one race left for Sunday, it was a battle for the remaining podium spots. Moriceau OCS’d the start and simply left the course since they had won anyways. Behind them, Salomon & Delapierre took the bullet to secured second overall and Brezellec finally got back on form to take a second in the race and third overall. Dropping out of contention with a strong chance for a top three finish was Alice Metais’ crew on CHARLY, accumulating a 21-5 in her last two races to drop into fourth (but still winning the Top Woman’s Skipper award!). Taking fifth was Lagraviere’s SAFRAN, closing with satisfying scores of 1-4 in the last two races.
Everyone greatly enjoyed the social festivities as well as the wonderful hosts, CNPL (Centre Nautique du Pays de Lorient). The racing conducted by PRO Jean Coadou was met with great applause by all participants!
For the overall J/80 Coupe de France, Moriceau’s on INTERFACE CONCEPT/ CV ECOLE NAVALE has strongly increased their overall series leadership. Can anyone catch them? Perhaps not.
The women’s teams sailing J/80s in France are sailing extremely well. In addition to Metais’ 4th overall and 1st women’s position, taking 2nd in Women’s division was Maxime Rousseaux skippering ST-CAST GRAND OUEST ETIQUETTES and 3rd was Pauline Chalaux driving PRINCE DE BRETAGNE. For more J/80 Open Lorient Regatta sailing information
J/120 Over The Moon @ Harvest Moon!
(Galveston Bay, Texas)- Hosted by Lakewood YC in Houston, Texas, the 2014 Harvest Moon Regatta was another success. The annual regatta is one of our favorites so check out Keith Magnussen’s report from the race on board James Liston’s J-120 Aeolus.
“The annual Harvest Moon Regatta (HMR) is my annual trek to the great big state of Texas. In the past, this race has thrown some very challenging and interesting weather my way and this year was no exception.
If you are unfamiliar with the HMR then let’s get you informed. If you know about the HMR skip to the next paragraph. The HMR is a 150-mile race from Galveston to Port Aransas Texas. The coastline is littered with oil rigs, unlight platforms, oyster beds, shrimpers and a whole bunch of other stuff. Galveston is a beach community close to Houston and Port Aransas is a spring break town close to Corpus Christie.
After meeting up with my fellow crew members at Houston Yacht Club we headed down to James Liston’s J-120 Aeolus. James has been a great customer and friend and I always enjoy sailing on his boat. This year we were sporting a brand new Code-0, Carbon GPL Genoa and an AIRX Code 1A spinnaker. We felt we had a pretty good arsenal to compliment the 3A, Max class running spinnaker and spinnaker staysail. Mark Michelson from Dry-UV not only supplied some fantastic crew shirts he also supplied us with a weather routing synopsis. Not sure it would benefit my good friends on the Viper 640, they were looking at a wet ride!
Viper 830
HMR starts of the Galveston pier and our class was due to start at 3pm. We handily won the start as we jumped out to an early lead. The Santa Cruz 50 quickly passed us on the tight jib reach that she is essentially made for. We held off the J-122 for a bit as we traded off lanes looking for clear air. We ended up with the low road and Rebecca (the other J-120) took the high. Low road was not the way to go as we ended up fighting for clear air with the smaller boats we were all passing. Our speed was great as we pushed 10kts of boat speed right on rhumb line.
The low road was truly not stellar as I “think” there was a bit more pressure above. As we made the correction and neared the Freeport buoy, it became clear that we would be just behind the J-122 and J-120. We really wanted to get the Code-0 up and we eventually did just that as the wind clocked to around 135 and gave us the angle we needed. As soon as we got it up, we started to move on the boats above us. Only downside was the wind did not cooperate and we had to switch to the jib top.
Unfortunately for us, we had some issues on our headsail changes and ended up losing a lot of time. Won’t go into details but having the right set up for the bowman to work at night is crucial to success on overnight races. Eventually we had to switch to the number 3 as the wind went more forward and strengthened.
Back to the race! I forgot to mention the beautiful sunset. Sunsets on the water are exceptional. The colors, anticipation of night sailing and promise for some adventure make this time of day very special.
We were plugging along in around 15kts of wind (I think, as our TWS was way off most of the time). The wind was steady and some of the crew (no names) were getting a little seasick. One in particular had an unfortunate incident and slipped down below hurting his shoulder and rendering him incapacitated. Sort of dropping like flies, which put more pressure on the guys on deck.
Around 2am (I think) the fun really started. In came two squalls for some excitement. The first one was relatively tame with rain and wind in the 20’s. The second one… well that’s the one to talk about. Full on downpour, rain going sideways, 30+kts of wind, visibility 5 yards, rain hurting your face means it is about time to reef the main. Job well done on this one!
After the squalls passed the real breeze settled back in. It must have been over 25 at times because we had to flog the main, which was reefed, and only had a #3 headsail up. If you sail J-120’s then you know how much breeze it takes to do this.
Morning arrived and we zeroed in on the Port Aransas turning buoy. It always seems to blow hard here and this was no exception. Big swells and big wind, fun times. Plan was to turn the buoy, pop the 3A, shake the reef and have the best sailing of the race (for the last 2 miles). It was pretty clear that no one in front of us was putting spinnakers up as we could hear the delta between rounding and finishing. The 3A was a good call because the channel is really narrow and a tanker was coming out. The 3A is a great sail in 25kts as it does not hide behind the main and allows us to maneuver relatively fast. Our thoughts were that this is a chance to make some time back and have a bunch of fun!
Fun it was! 16kt top speed with an average of around 13 made this the best sailing of the race! We finished the race, put the boat away, rented a golf cart (seems to be the cool thing to do) and checked the Texas waves for a surf session. All in all it was another amazing experience and even though we did not finish where we like it was a learning and bonding experience.” J/120 Harvest Moon sailing YouTube video
Harvest Moon Sailing Regatta on Facebook For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information
J/Community
What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide
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* Charlie Enright and Team ALVIMEDICA have started the Volvo Ocean Race off Alicante, Spain and they are now five days into their first 6,500+nm Leg #1. They successfully navigated the Straits of Gibraltar and, needless to say, they are enjoying a real one-design race with dramatic swings taking place nearly hourly as the duel with the six other contenders for the race lead. They’ve gone from 1st to 5th, then back to 1st more times than you can remember. Epic, drama-filled days, creating enormous anxieties for the navigators making new “calls” just about every hour (often less!). It’s turning into a mind-numbing game of nerves as each crew “bobs & weaves” through the fleet and whatever the wind Gods deliver to them as they play gybing angles downwind off the coast of Africa. For many, it’s been a maddeningly frustrating start to the race as they are now past the Canary Islands and sailing on a southwest course along the African coastline towards their next mark off Recife, Brazil. Unlike the last race, this time the whole fleet took the “classic” trading ship route down along the coast of Africa before going hunting for the offshore tradewinds. Also sailing fast is the J/80 superstar sailor from Spain, Iker Martinez on MAPFRE and J/24 ace Ian Walker from Great Britain leading Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing! Follow the Volvo 65s racing “J/One—Design style” around the world here on the live tracker.
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.
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J/160 SALACIA has been sailing in Australia in the Whitsunday Islands. Guess who decided to throw themselves across their bow as they cruised comfortably to their next destination? A giant whale! Look at this amazing photo!
* Jim & Heather Wilson just completed a circumnavigation of our “blue planet Earth” in June 2013 on their J/42 CEOL MOR. Said Jim, “The odyssey of CEOL MOR is over, for now. We completed our circumnavigation on our J/42 when we crossed our outbound track in Britannia Bay, Mustique. We were, however, still 2,000 nautical miles from home. So we continued on through the Windwards, the Leewards, and then through the British Virgin Islands. After a farewell ‘Painkiller’ at the Soggy Dollar, and a last meal at Foxy’s, we made the 1,275 nautical mile passage to the Chesapeake and completed our port-to-port circumnavigation when we arrived in Annapolis on June 28, 2013. We had been away 1,334 days, completed 259 days of ocean passages, and sailed 30,349 nautical miles (34,925 statute miles). Read more about their adventures in their well-documented blog here: http://www.svceolmor.com/SVCeolMor/Welcome.html
* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR. Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, “In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that’s about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.
AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!”
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR
* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called “Retiring on the Open Sea”. The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ’s Editor desks. Here’s the update:
Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers’ Questions
Advice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety
The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— “Retiring to the Open Sea”— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.
WSJ- “What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?”
Bill- “In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.
Although long-distance cruising wasn’t what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.
People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather.”
READ MORE ABOUT BILL’S INSIGHTFUL COMMENTARY AND THOUGHTS ON WSJ ONLINE HERE
* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel’s big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here:http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/
* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news athttp://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 athttp://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.