IYAC Newport Cup- Saturday, July 2nd- J/80s and all!

(Newport, RI)- Come on down and join us all for the IYAC's annual Newport Cup.  A mad-dash around one of the world's more beautiful and challenging "Around Island Races"- Jamestown/ Conanicut Island in the middle of picturesque Narragansett Bay.

So far, looks like several J's will be sailing including J/22s, J/24s, J/105s and a fleet of J/80s.

Everyone and anything that floats is welcome, just make sure you have some kind of verifiable PHRF number that PHRF-NB knows about.  Last year a Shields just lost out to the mighty 90 ft RAMBLER by mere minutes for the overall Newport Cup Trophy.  Dust off the old sails, clean the bottom, fill-up the cooler and head down to the IYAC at 536 Thames St. for the 8:30 AM Skipper's Meeting on Saturday, July 2nd.  First start is 1100 hours!


The IYAC Newport Cup NOR is attached here as a PDF file.

  

J/80s & J/24s Grand Prix du Crouesty

(Crouesty Arzon, France)- It was a busy day for the 113 competitors in the Grand Prix when they started the regatta, nearly 50% of the fleet were J's- 42 J/80s, 7 J/24s, the J/97 J-LANCE in IRC 4, 3 J/109s in IRC 3 and the J/122 JOLLY JOKER in IRC 1.  "We are satisfied with the number of boats. We have very high quality sailors here, the best are present in J/80 and with 42 boats it should be very good racing," said Jacques Fily, President of YCCA.

The weather was absolutely perfect for the sailors.  Saturday, there were 3 races that were contested in a wind of ten knots and under a bright sun. The race committee abandoned late in the day the fourth race due to an unstable breeze.  For Sunday, there were 3 races also in a wind of between 15 to 25 knots and large seas, offering magnificent surfing downwind.  By Monday, there were two more races to settle out the winners in the Grand Prix, sailing in winds of 8-10 knots, a masterful job running the races by PRO Jean-Paul Vallegand.

For the J/80s, it was clear the fleet was decidedly too eager to do battle on Saturday. First start was a general recall, then black flag with eight competitors having to pay the cost, including Eric Brezellec's Interface Concept 2.  Under these competitive conditions, consistency is an important asset and it is no surprise that Voilerie All Purpose, led by local Sylvain Pelissier was the winner of the first day with two second places and one fourth place. They were followed by Atlantis (Laurent Sambron).

By Sunday, it was clear that Pelissier's team were not going to easily sail away with the gold medal.  Laurent Sambron sailing ATLANTIS sailed beautifully on the windy Sunday to tie Pelissier with 12 pts after six races.  Lying with striking distance of these two was Eric Brezzellec on INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 with 9 pts.

However, on Monday the VOILERIE ALL PURPOSE team skippered by Sylvain Pelissier with crew Sébastien Simon, Damien Changey and Joris Cocaud were going to win by sailing so consistently compared to their competitors.  The ATLANTIS crew of Laurent Sambron and INTERFACE CONCEPT 2 sailed by Eric Brezellec completed the podium.  "For us it is a fantastic opportunity to sail with Sylvain, he teaches us so much each year," said the crew made up of youth aged 20 to 21, who usually sail F18, 420 and match racing . "We won only one race, but it pays to be consistent," says Sylvain, who won only  b a little bit, but fully enjoying the pleasure of beating the invincible Eric Brezellec, the early favorite to win the regatta.

In the J/24s, is became a "jackpot for MARTA".  At the beginning, MAJIC sailed by François de Herce was an early contender for the lead, having won a race on Saturday.  However, Pierre-Antoine Lemaistre and his classmates sailing MARTA were eager to get going on Sunday morning to enjoy the big breeze and big waves.  Sure enough, they won three straight races. With big smiles on their faces, Pierre-Antoine commented, "We had top speeds of 12 knots, we were never getting in trouble at the roundings. First race? Impeccable. Second race? Impeccable. Third race? Impeccable! Yes, it was an impeccable day! For us, it's conditions we dreamed about! The race committee was really great, we wish to take our hats off, it was just a fine day!"  After that extraordinary day of sailing, MARTA ended up winning the J/24s in "grand prix style".

Also sailing impeccably was Didier Le Moal on-board his SPI Ouest-France winning J/97 J-LANCE-R.  Didier's team started out winning the first race on Saturday and never looked back.  J-LANCE-R won their IRC Class 4 in "grand prix style" as well, winning their class by a large margin.   For more Grand Prix Crouesty sailing information

  

Tribute to Walter Fischer- Long-time J/24 Sailor and Rolex CEO

* The sailing world lost a great friend the night of June 13. Surrounded by his family, long-time J/24 sailor Walter Fischer passed away peacefully in his sleep after a 2 year battle with cancer.  Walter joined luxury retailer Little Switzerland in St Thomas in 1961. Starting as a watchmaker, he rose to become President and CEO. In 1989, he joined Rolex as head of sales for the Caribbean and Latin America. In 1999, he was named President and CEO of Rolex Watch USA. While in St Thomas, Walter was responsible for the creation of the International Rolex Regatta in 1972. It has long been known as the "Jewel of the Caribbean." in the early 80s, Walter and a group of friends brought the first J/24 to the Caribbean. He also served as the head of the Race Committee and Commodore of St.Thomas YC. Walter sailed all kinds of boats from steering his famous J/24 called STING to grinding winches on a maxi.

As President of Rolex US, Walter expanded the company's relationship with the New York YC, of which he was a proud member; many aspects of US SAILING, including sailors with disabilities; Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week and Collegiate Regatta; the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta; and the Rolex Big Boat Series at St. Thomas YC. Perhaps Walter's greatest joy was watching his 8 year old granddaughter, Caroline, sail her Opti off the beach at the St. Thomas YC.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions be made to the St. Thomas YC Junior Sailing program. Donations should be made out to the St. Thomas YC, with the notation "Walter Fischer Junior Sailing Fund" and mailed to Bill Canfield, St. Thomas YC, 8-58, 6624 Estate Nazareth, St. Thomas, USVI 00802.

Sleep well, Walter. Your many friends miss you already. Our hearts go out to Walter's wife Jill, son Greg, daughter Stefanie and his four grandchildren.

  

Great One-design Sailing @ Cal Race Week

J/105s, J/109s, J/80s, J/24s Love SoCal Sunshine
(Marina Del Rey, CA)-  In their usual fashion, the amazing facility that Cal YC offers to its members and visiting sailors is second to none in terms of fun, hospitality and excellent race management.  Rolling out the red carpet for eight one-design classes, including four J-classes, the J/24s, J/80s, J/105s and J/109s, the J sailors responded with good turnouts in all four fleets.

In fact, the number of J/24s attending equalled those sailing that famous "old" Olympic class- the Stars!  Imagine that, kudos to the 24 fleet for continuing to have so much fun with their buddies.  Susan Taylor on TAKE FIVE again showed the boys her tail feathers and managed to nearly "run the table" with four firsts and one second to win with a total of 6 pts.  The battle for second came down to the last two races between Tom Tunberg's BULLET and Jim Bauerley's CRITTER.  Ultimately, it was Tom's 3-3-2-3-1 for 12 pts beat out Jim's team with a 2-4-5-2-3 for 16 pts, for second and third respectively.

Also showing strength and having fun were the five J/80s.  This year it was a repeat win for Curt Johnson on AVET sailing to a 1-1-2-2-1 for 7 pts.  An up-and-comer showing great promise for the future, winning two races in a row, was Dan Gribble's DUI sailing to a 3-3-1-1-4 for 12 pts to secure second place.  Third was Bob Hayward's BLUE JAY with a 2-2-3-4-3 for 14 pts.

The J/105 always shows up with a good number of very competitive teams from the SoCal neighborhood.  Sure enough, past winners of San Diego and Los Angeles area J/105 SoCal series were on the starting line going for all the gold.  However, showing a remarkable turn of speed and consistent sailing was Gary Mozer's team on CURRENT OBSESSION 2 dialing it up a notch to nearly "run the table" as well like Susan in the J/24s, getting four firsts and a third for 7 pts to win by 8 pts!  That's a spanking!  The contest for second was a donnybrook going into the final two races for four teams, all the action was taking place here as Gary's CO2 team took off over the horizon.  Rick Goebel's SANITY, John Howell's BLINK!, Don Poppe's ROCK & ROLL and Ed Sanford's CREATIVE had a great series racing one another.  In the end, Rick's SANITY team squeaked ahead to finish with a 3-3-6-2-1, coming on strong at the end to finish with 15 pts and get second overall.  Third was determined by a tie-breaker, with the nod going to John's BLINK! crew due to a 4-2-2-4-6 record for  18 pts and Don's ROCK & ROLL crew got the short-end of that stick with a 2-4-3-5-4 record also for 18 pts.  While starting out slowly, Ed's CREATIVE team nearly pulled off a third, ending up fourth with a 6-5-4-3-2 tally for 20 pts.  All in all great sailing amongst the J/105 teams.

While the J/105s and J/24s both had runaway winners and battles for podium honors for silver and bronze, the J/109s had a tough battle for the entire series between two well-sailed boats, Alice Leahey's GRACE O'MALLEY and Tom Brott's ELECTRA.  Both teams sailed fast and smart and didn't give an inch.  However, there was no holding back Alice's first attempt at winning silverware in the J/109 class at Cal Race Week.  Both teams sailed to a tie-breaker, Alice getting a 3-1-2-1-1 for 8 pts to win over Tom's 1-2-1-2-2 also for 8 pts.  Watching the fireworks at the front of the fleet was Bryce Benjamin's PERSISTENCE, counting a consistent 2-3-3-3-3 record for 14 pts.

PHRF Class was won by Fred Cottrell's J/133 TIGGER, literally "running the table" with five straight firsts for 5 pts, the only boat in the regatta to do so and completely dominate their class.  Way to go Fred!   For more Cal Race Week sailing information

  

AFTERTHOUGHT Wins Southern Bay Race Week

(Hampton Roads, Virginia)- Skippered by Craig Wright, the J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT from Raleigh, North Carolina, won THE BLACK SEAL CUP, for best overall performance at Southern Bay Race Week. In the largest of the handicap and one-design fleets, PHRF A2 (12 boats), AFTERTHOUGHT had to toss out a 2nd place to win with five firsts as counters! The regatta, which is sailed in Hampton Roads, drew 98 keel boats from the mid-Atlantic and as far away as Maine.

On Friday, the first day of racing, the fleet raced in the Harbor, after a long-range recon race committee launch reported rolling waves as high as skyscrapers in the Bay itself. Racing breezes and smooth surfaces made for three opening day races in the same waters where the Civil War Battle of the Ironclads took place in 1862.  Saturday morning the seas in the Bay off Norfolk's Ocean View had abated and the fleet got in three races in conditions that rewarded, in addition to other skills, attention to wind shifts and Bay currents.  On Sunday morning, Mother Nature threw a curve. While the racers eat breakfast, downpours as thick as their pancake syrup hit the area. Racing was postponed ashore and not much later warnings of expected severe thunderstorms kept officials from sending the fleet out. Rather the party tent was activated and by noon the Gosling's Black Seal Rum was offsetting the dampness.

The J/35s sailed as a one-design class.  The winner was MAGGIE sailed by Peter Scheidt of Highland, MD.  Second was T-BONE, sailed by Bruce Artman from Tracy's Landing, MD and third was BUMP IN THE NIGHT skippered by Maury Niebur from West River, MD.

The J/105 class was led by VELOCE, sailed by Marty Hublitz and Eddie Hornick from Roanoke, VA.  Second was INVEVITABLE sailed by Mike Karn, of Richmond, VA and third was LOOSE CANNON sailed by Strother Scott from Maidens, VA.

The J/24s have continued to be a popular class sailing in this region.  Winners were QUICKY sailed by Mike Veraldi from Virginia Beach, VA.  Second was Neil Ford and Elisabeth Biondi from Hampton, VA and finally third was CHOP CHOP skippered by Rodney Paice of Portsmouth, VA.  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information.

  

Brad Van Liew Sweeps Velux 5 Ocean Race

* Johnstone family relative Brad Van Liew claims victory after spending more than 500 days alone at sea in the last fifteen years, racing under extreme conditions around the planet earth. Sleeping in brief catnaps around the clock, subsiding on dehydrated food, and enduring the physical and mental challenges of solo racing around the globe on a high tech 60-foot race boat may sound appalling to some, but Brad keeps asking for more. He is the very first American to ever officially finish three solo races around the globe, a remarkable accomplishment in and of itself.  He is also the first person worldwide to sweep all legs of the Velux 5 Oceans race for two complete events, an even more remarkable accomplishment.  In the last leg of this year's Velux 5 Ocean Race, he crossed the finish line to win 1st Place overall aboard his LE PINGOUIN ECO 60 boat claiming victory as the only entry from the USA and undoubtedly America's finest solo ocean racer.

"I feel the exuberance and joy of winning an incredible race and experiencing the unforgettable  journey of sailing around the world alone," said Van Liew while waiting outside the locks to enter La Rochelle's historic Harbor. "There is just nothing else in the world like it. The challenges are unique and can be dangerous and invigorating at the same time. It is a test of the soul and involves reaching deep to overcome physical and mental challenges I have seen nowhere else in sport or life."   For more sailing information on Brad's LE PINGOUIN Velux 5 adventures     Sailing photo credit- Ainhoa Sanchezbr />