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(Sydney, Australia)- This year’s J/24 Nationals were sailed on the fabulous
Sydney Harbour and the teamwork at the host club, Royal Prince Edward YC, was
nothing short of amazing. Though the fleet had thirteen teams
participating, the depth of talent was huge and great skippers were back in the
pack. Midway through the regatta, Ben Lamb, Dave Suda and Steve Girdis
all had a mathematical chance of winning the regatta. It was incredibly
close racing all the way until the end. In fact, big changes could (and did)
happen on the final day of racing in the middle of the pack where just 6 pts
separated six 
places! In this
group, Rolex Sydney-Hobart winning tactician Sean Kirkjian, Vlad (Singapore),
Doug Watson, J Spot, Ron Thompson, Dave West, are all great skippers and would
be treated to a “roller-coaster” ride of ups & downs all the way to the
end.
Steve Girdis sailing CONVICTS REVENGE was crowned the Australian 2014 J/24
National Champion in an ultra-tight battle in the last two races, winning by
just one point as a result of winning the last race! It was not an easy title
to come by with so many tough cowboys vying for the podium. It was
consistent sailing that ultimately won the day for the CONVICTS, posting a
3-3-3-6-2-3-1-2-4-1 scoreline for 23 pts net. Early regatta leaders, Ben
Lamb’s KAOTIC crew, surely must’ve “blown a fuse” after winning four of the
first six races 
(maybe it was too much
grog?). In races 7, 8, 9 they posted a disastrous 6-5-10 and basically
had to win the last race to gain the title. Alas, that was not in the cards for
them, watching Girdis’s CONVICTS win the finale and bragging rights as “Top
Gun” in the Australian J/24 fleet.
Dave Suda’s gangsters on PACEMAKER were lying second after eight races with a
very consistent scoreline of 1-4-2-4-4-2-3-1. But, like their colleagues
on KAOTIC, they also experienced a bit of chaos with the “wheels falling off
their shopping trolley” in the last two races. PACEMAKER’s 5-7 in races 9
& 10 dropped them into third overall, taking the bronze in a tough, tough
fleet. Rounding out the top five were BY THE LEE and Kirkjian’s SAIL PAC
in 4th & 5th, respectively. For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information
(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)- Warm waters, winds from 12 to 25 knots, plenty of
sunshine and the already famous parties await you at arguably one of the best
sailing venues worldwide. The J/24 North American Championship will take place
on the waters of Bahia de Banderas (Vallarta) from March 16th to 21st, 2014.
This is definitely a regatta not to be missed, so mark your calendars and make
plans to attend this event which will be part of the Copa Mexico in its
third edition. Those of you who have attended the past two editions or the 2007
Worlds there can attest to the excellent sailing conditions at Bahia de
Banderas (Vallarta). The bay is one of the largest in North America and
is easily accessible by many of the large airlines with direct flights from
most major hubs in the USA and Canada, as well as, Latin America and Europe—
making it convenient to get to & from wherever you are visiting Puerto
Vallarta.
The host club will again be the Marina Riviera Nayarit located at the Cruz de
Huanacaxtle on the north side of the bay— they’re ready to receive all of the
participants with their accustomed excellent hospitality. The town itself, not
long ago a sleepy fishing village, has seen tremendous growth recently due to
the marina. Now with many great restaurants catering to every palate from
international cuisine to real authentic Mexican food from both the region and
the country. There is also a chandlery and spare parts store with a huge
selection within walking distance! Close by is the town of Puerto Vallarta
offering a taste of a real Mexican town with its cobblestone streets and
buildings hundred of years old, art galleries and exquisite food for all
tastes, plus night life that is unparalleled!
All this alone would be reason enough to visit beautiful Banderas Bay, but if
you add the superb sailing and weather conditions, plus friendly people and
great parties, it’s a hard combination to beat. Last time, the Brazilians
“won” the dance contest, the party AND the regatta! Can you top that!?
There are already 53 teams registered with many of the world’s top sailors in attendance.
Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil and five other teams are coming from Brazil.
Mike Ingham, Tony Parker, Chris Snow and many of the USA’s best sailors are
also coming. And, there are teams from Monaco, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Japan,
Peru, Canada and many others also participating, totaling over ten
countries. The regatta organizers are expecting a fleet of around 60 to
70 boats!
For more J/24 North Americans sailing information, please contact Leopoldo
Farias, President of the J/24 Class Mexico, at email- leopoldo_farias@hotmail.com For more J/24 NA’s sailing information
(La Punta, Peru)- The thirteen teams sailing the Peruvean J/24 National
Championships for the “Copa Jose Barreda Moller” were pretty much given a
“clinic” in how to sail J/24s fast by their past champion, Luis Olcese sailing
SCARAMOUCH. Tossing a 5th and counting five 1sts amongst their scoreline
in a best of nine races, the SCARAMOUCH team demonstrated why they remain the
leading Peruvian team on the world stage. Racing took place for two
successive weekends off La Punta- November 30th/ December 1st and December 7th
to 8th.
While Olcese and crew were sailing in another dimension, the rest of the fleet
was having quite a battle for the balance of the podium. In fact, four
boats were vying for contention over the two weekends, including Tania
Zimmerman’s JITANA, Daniel Mendoza’s WAYRA, Lucas Pescherria’s TIAMAT and
Javier Arribas’s HAWKY. Seemingly, none of the four teams could keep
themselves out of trouble, either having to toss an OCS or DSQ or overcoming
bad starts/ tactics to try to stay in the hunt.
As is often the case in such tight four-way skirmishes, the last race
determines the outcome. By virtue of winning the 8th, and second to last
race, Zimmerman’s JITANA held onto a slim lead for second overall over
Mendoza’s WAYRA. Despite an 8th in the last race (her toss race), JITANA
hung on to take the silver by one point over Mendoza. Had Mendoza
finished 2nd or better in the last race, he would’ve taken the tie-breaker,
that’s how close the finale was for these teams. Pescherria’s TIAMAT was
involved in several protests but managed to fend off Arribas’s team on HAWKY to
take fourth by just four points after the nine races (eight counting).
Spirited racing continues in this fun-loving J/24 fleet in Peru and it was
clear the teams enjoyed some of the nice sunny conditions with warm breezes
during the event. For more Peru J/24 Nationals sailing information
(Coconut Grove, FL)- Just as the swallows return to Capistrano, the J/24s keep
coming back to Miami. This time the regatta host is Coral Reef Yacht Club, the
new title sponsor is BACARDI, and the dates are February 21st through 23rd.
You might ask why this will be the 15th time that Biscayne Bay was chosen as
the venue in the 36 years of Midwinter Championships? Yes, it might have
something to do with the fact that Miami guarantees no blizzards, nice breezes,
lots of great Cuban food and a legendary J/24 tradition. It also just makes
sense.
According to last year’s winner, John Mollicone, “I will be down in Miami for
the 2014 BACARDI J/24 Midwinters and really am looking forward to it. I
have been racing in the J/24 Class since 1998 and like the competition, the
boats, and especially the great people. There are no restrictions on
sailor classification in the J/24 class so you end up racing against so many
great skippers and crews. I also love sailing with the genoa, which you
do not really see anymore on other types of boats. I love sailing in
Miami during the winter months for its warm weather, dependable breeze, and I like
the chop that Biscayne Bay has to offer.” Some of the other sailing stars who
have already registered include Skip Dieball, 2011/ 2012 winner Peter Bream,
Tim Healy (5 time champ), Robby Brown and Travis Odenbach as well as top local
sailors like Eamonn DeLisser and Gary Sprague.
Although the J/24s have been around for 37 years, they are comparable to a Ford
Mustang … still going, still popular and very American. Watching the boats with
their colorful spinnakers is fun, too, and the sailors will certainly enjoy the
food and beverages at Coral Reef Yacht Club along with the competitive race
courses and regatta management by Coral Reef Yacht Club’s highly regarded Race
Committee.
J/24's are one of the oldest classes still racing in Biscayne Bay. Local J/24
Fleet 10 was the 10th fleet formed in the late 1970's when the class first
started and has as many members as the local Miami Etchells 22 and Snipe
fleets.
Here are the ingredients: The Overall Regatta Chair is Mark Pincus of Columbus
Day Regatta and Bacardi Miami Sailing Week fame. For a class which began in the
70s and is still charging along, “be there or be square”! You do not want to
miss out on the sailing and the partying.
For more BACARDI J/24 Midwinters sailing information, contact Connie Bischoff
at wingsmiami@aol.com or 305 812-1073
or check the BACARDI J/24 Midwinters website.
YCBG Sailing Team Launches Training
for 2014 North Americans
(Bergamo, Italy)- The year 2014 promises to be an epic one for J/24
championship racing in Mexico. Sailing in the spectacular waters of Bahia
de Banderas off Puerto Vallarta, the Mexican J/24 class will be hosting the
famous “La Copa Mexico” (a week-long extravaganza of over-the-top parties and
some sailing and sun-tanning mixed in for good measure) as well as the North
Americans- held March 15th to 22nd. The YCBG (YC Bergamo) Italian team
give us an update on their planning and progress to date, as described by YCBG
President John Fields.
"Our crew will be formed by the helmsman Fabrizio Eusebio, Mr. Fasoli,
Parimbelli Marzio, Puntel Daniela and me (John). If you want, you can follow us on our website.
In 2012, La Copa Mexico was hosted by the Mexican J/24 Class with
support from the Mexican Navy. Fifty-five teams from ten countries
participated along with notable J/24 champions like Mauricio Santacruz from
Brazil; Tim Healy, Mike Ingham and Chris Snow from the USA; Ken Porter, Javier
Velasquez Robinson, Jorge Castillo Martinez, and Peter Wiegandt from Mexico;
Vernon Robert from Chile; Jan-Marc Ulrich from Germany; Jan Isley from Monaco;
and Victor Maldonado Anso from France. Sailing in that same regatta was
our YCBG Sailing Team (formed by the helmsman Marzio Parimbelli, Paul Luisetti,
Fabrizio Eusebio, Fausto Gandolfi and myself- John Fields). After very
careful preparation, attention to detail and training we were determined to
improve on our 35th place in the 2010 event. In fact, we ended up sailing
much better, taking a splendid 13th overall, first all amateur crew!
It was a great honor for the YCBG Sailing Team to have represented the Italian
J/24 sailors and our fleet. The event began with a surprise at the time
of taking over our assigned boat- “Que Si”. But, since the boat assigned (by
drawing from a hat) to Mauricio Santa Cruz was his former BRUSCHETTA (now
called DIGGER), we were given the option to use QUE SI or DIGGER.
Naturally, we chose DIGGER since we knew it was a great boat!
The next day, after the skipper briefing, we had a practice race in 18-20 kts
and we were very competitive, sailing in the top ten and not finishing the race
since we were superstitious like many other sailors— bad luck to finish a
practice race!
On Monday, after the
official ceremony with the Governor of the State of Nayarit, we were off to the
race and hoping to get as many as ten races in by Friday. Some of the
races were very demanding, with many recalls, black flags. Some races had
little wind and others had 20-25 kts of very gusty and shifty breezes. It
was very challenging with many combinations of waves, current and shifting
winds, which led to many good and bad results. We had a penalty in the
second race (40 pts DFZ) but we didn’t lose heart and subsequently after five
races were in the top fifteen! Ultimately, we managed to finish 13th,
thanks to much help from many friends like Chris Snow, Peter Saurer, Luis
Vazquez Mota and Jorge Castillo Martinez.
For the 2014 Copa Mexico we hope the forecast is for excellent weather
conditions (wind and warm weather) and great hospitality thanks to the Marina
Riviera Nayarit located at Cruz de Huanacaxtle on the north side Bahia de
Banderas. As the regatta ‘chamber of commerce” message states- “Those who
have had the opportunity to take part in the previous editions of Copa Mexico
or the 2007 J/24 Worlds are well aware of the beauty of the place, excellent
wind conditions and the excellent climate and the presence of the best J/24
sailors in the world. La Copa Mexico has become one of the most important
sailing events in the world and we guarantee the 2014 edition will be a
memorable one." We hope so and will be working hard again to
represent our Italian J/24 colleagues as best we can!” For more Italian J/24 sailing information and news on YCBG Team
development
J/24 Midwinters @ Coral Reef YC For
2014!
(Coconut Grove, FL)- J/24s are going back to Miami? Some may ask, “why
did they ever leave?” Yes, the famous Coral Reef Yacht Club is the host
club for the 2014 J/24 Midwinter Championship. The adopted home of Tito Bacardi
and other famous “stars” in the sailing world over time, like “Old Man Diaz”,
the J/24s have a long and storied history of J/24 Midwinters on the beautiful
waters of Biscayne Bay.
What’s the recent NOAA Weather update for Biscayne Bay? Just the normal
stuff- SW winds 11-15 kts, bay waters a moderate chop. Skies clear with
temperatures over 75 degrees. Oh yea, it's no surprise that Wayne
Cochrane's 1967 hit song "Going back to Miami" has been the
winter-time anthem for many sailors around the world.
And, for the J/24 class
it’s much more than just an anthem, coming to Miami has been a ritual for the
J/24 Midwinters- it’s been held on Biscayne Bay a record thirteen (13) times,
more than any other venue. Five times Midwinters champion Tim Healy will return
again to try for another victory. Three of his wins have been on Biscayne Bay.
Historical note for J/24 aficionados, who never won the Midwinters despite
winning a record five J/24 Worlds?? The winner gets a free J/Calendar
(answers-> first correct post on J/24 Facebook page).
Sorry, we digress. Did you know Cochrane's song had a line- "Gotta
lay out in the morning sun”? That should mean something to you Northern-types
(e.g. anyone north of South Beach). With balmy temperatures forecast for
all of February on Biscayne Bay with the classic SE sea-breeze pumping in at
10-15 kts, it’s high-times (not Colorado’s or Uruguay’s version) to head south
and enjoy a few “umbrella drinks” at Coral Reef CY’s fabulous pool-side cabana
bar and throw some sailing in during the day for good measure! For more J/24 Midwinter Championship sailing information
Impressions From The Monaco J/24
Europeans
(Hamburg, Germany)- In early October, the ALICE crew went along with their boat
on the 1,700 km long road to the J/24 European Championships in Monaco. Here is
the report from the skipper of the six women crew, Katharina Witt from the
Hamburger Segel Club:
“For the first time after 20 years, the Europeans were going to be held in the
magical princely state along the Mediterranean. Seventy teams from eleven
countries were registered from all over the world. There were crews from
Australia, USA, Italy, UK, Brazil, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, France and, of
course, Monaco. By far the largest group was the Germans with a total of
twenty-two teams!
The 22-hour drive was exhausting, not the least including
the nerve-wracking descent through the narrow streets in Monaco! But, the sight
of the Principality and the summer weather made us forget all this very quickly! After the
measurement process was completed Saturday and Sunday, thank goodness it went
quickly and smoothly for us, we were looking forward to “practice Monday”.
We sailed with about 60 teams Monday in the race area and became acquainted
with the local conditions. Monaco is a challenging place to sail with
waves, currents and shifty winds. At the same time, the large bay has the
stunning backdrop of Monaco spread across the mountain slopes behind the
harbor. The turquoise water was almost unreal. In the evening, we were welcomed
by the Yacht Club de Monaco (whose President is Prince Albert) for the
reception dinner— the participants enjoyed a delicious culinary pasta
party! Unfortunately, Albert did not show!! We were hoping to see
him!
On Tuesday commenced the first day of the regatta. After several false starts,
the first race finally started under black flag. Our start was successful, to
some extent, we made some good tactical decisions and were able to finish the
first race 45th.
The atmosphere was great and we sailed the next two races to become better
acquainted with the sailing area. After we were given a time penalty in the
second race, the third race was exciting again. We sailed some good courses and
finished this race in 54th.
Wednesday started with a postponement, giving us a long
breakfast break in the harbor. After we finally went out, the wind, however,
was only good enough for one race. Initially the wind was still light after the
start, we managed to round the windward mark in the top half of the
fleet! But, the last downwind leg hurt us, so we dropped quite a few
boats to finish 55th. We were really looking forward to the next day, which
should provide more wind to get in more races but also to give us a chance to
sail in breeze (which is more comfortable for us girls!).
On Thursday, the race committee sent out the fleet right at 9am, hoping to get
in three races. Races with over 60 boats were a challenge for us. In each race,
we learned a bit more and our tactical decisions were always better. We tried
the right side on which we suspected more wind and favorable current
flow. This tactical decision was a complete success for us! We sailed
well, with some exciting crosses upwind and downwind and we went even better,
taking 25th at the finish! This gave us great motivation amongst our girls, so
we were hoping to capitalize on this momentum for the next race.
As the fleet was waiting for the fourth race, the wind suddenly died
completely. Then, a surreal, hazy, fog-like cloud formation formed above
the water and some of the locals next to us said— “it’s the calm before the
storm”! They were right! Just a few minutes later, we were all swept
up in an enormous 35 kts gust that knocked us over on our ears with just
mainsail flying! A mistral just hit us! We were all immediately
called to the port and secure our boats in the harbor. It was a
breath-taking, but outstanding experience. After a successful day on the water,
we were able to hold our own getting back to land. We were very thankful for
this regatta because we had achieved our goal of top 50- we fought in the
overall standings to 49th!
On the last day of the regatta there was nothing to be felt by the storm. The
air was still and the race committee had us postponed in the harbor. Shortly
before 1500 hrs the signal was again given to follow the Race Committee boat
offshore for the start of a race. The YC Monaco PRO finally decided to capture
the light wind and start an eighth race. We were happy to sail one last time
against the backdrop of Monaco!
The race started and never got higher than 5 kts of breeze.
In fact, the wind and waves persistently tried to push the boats back to shore,
what an ordeal! Many Js rocked under main and genoa to windward mark and
over again under spinnaker back to the starting gate. It was a crazy race
for us. Unfortunately, we didn’t do so well in the last race, dropping in
the overall results from the 49th to 55th. This was disappointing, but it
was a great learning experience to sail against such top teams.
In the evening we were looking forward to the gala dinner with Prize Giving
Ceremony at the Yacht Club de Monaco. Freshly showered and with crew outfits
on, we went back in the evening to the yacht club, enjoyed the delicious
dinner, and applauded the winners. The British skipper, Chris McLaughlin, and
his team on IL RICCIO had shown consistently good performance for the regatta
and deserved to win.
A big “Thanks” goes to Lennart, who actively supported us, and our sponsors—
who made it possible for us to compete in the 2013 sailing season and sail the
European Championship 2013 in Monaco. For us, the European Championship was a
great success. We left Monaco with many lessons learned, much richer in
our experiences and full of new perspectives on how to improve next season!
Starting with nearly 70 J/24s was very exciting and a great challenge. We had
huge fun sailing in such a large fleet! For more German J/24 fleet sailing information
