BRAZIL Golden @ J/24 Pan Am Games

(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)- The final day of the sailing on the gorgeous Bahia de Banderas bay at the Pan American Games regatta saw each of the nine classes hold the double points medal race for the top five in each class to decide the medalists.

Emerging from the smoke on the battlefield, like an apparition out of the fog, was yet again Brazil's J/24 ace Mauricio Santa Cruz at the top of the leader-board.  Mauricio and crew took home the Gold by one point after a battle in the final race with the American team of John Mollicone.  Taking the Bronze Medal on the podium was Matias Sequel from Chile, fourth was Luis Alcese from Peru and fifth was Francisco Van Avermaete from Argentina.   Sixth from the host country Mexico was Jorge Murrietta.

Sailing onboard the American J/24 at the Pan Am Games in Puerto Vallarta was Dan Rabin.  Dan's amusing commentary about their Silver Medal winning experience was posted on Sailing World blogs:   "Security has increased significantly since we first arrived. Getting into the hotel or the yacht club is like going through security at the airport. In addition, the Mexican Navy is patrolling the coast of our hotel and the sailing area - wow!

I feel like karma should be on our side. The Canadian team's jib got lost in transport, so we gave them our practice jib which only has a few days on it. Otherwise, they would have been sailing with a jib that looks older than the kids I coach at Brown.

We had a nice cross-class dinner after the first day of sailing with the Lightning team and Clay Johnson. I learned that Farrah Hall, the U.S. boardsailor went for a run while waiting for her redress hearing. Boardsailing must be one of the most intense physical activities on the planet, and Farrah goes for a run to cool down! I explained to Jay Lutz that if I ran from our dinner table to the restaurant door I would probably go into cardiac arrest. I guess I'm getting old, or maybe I'm flat-out already there, but being on the water for 6 hours in 90+ degrees takes a lot out of me.

Another competition going on in the midst of the Pan Am Games is the country pins. All of the athletes are given about 20 pins which have a national team decal. The idea is that you exchange pins with athletes from other countries. I am failing miserably on this front. I imagine that the pin exchange is a great introduction to meet people if you are single. I am not single, and I'm a bit shy by nature. So far, I have a couple of Mexican pins that I got from one of their American coaches I was already friends with - pathetic, I know. I gave a pin to a waiter today just for getting me some parmesan cheese, and I gave another pin to a waiter with the promise of a Puerto Rican pin in exchange tomorrow.

What's the sailing like, you might ask?  Well, it looks like champagne sailing, but it's mighty hot on the water off Puerto Vallarta on Banderas Bay. And the pressure in only increasing as the medal race approaches.

We were rewarded with a day off on Thursday because the regatta is on schedule with six races completed. Wednesday was the lightest breeze of the regatta. The puffs were very narrow, making for some challenging racing. With the breeze so light, the heat felt even more extreme. Puerto Vallarta travel tip: no need to bring sailing gear here. If I wore a spray top, I would be unconscious by the leeward gate. We pulled a horizon job the first race and managed a 3rd in the next race. After beating the Brazilians both races, we are leading by 1 point with a throw out.

For our day off, we managed to find the only place hotter than a J/24 deck downwind: the beach volleyball court. The U.S. men's and women's teams had matches, so most of the sailors went down to cheer them on. During the men’s match, a group of 30 Mexican elementary school students were cheering “Los Estados Unidos”, so I’m thinking that NAFTA thing has worked out pretty well. The women faced off against Mexico, though, and the stadium was going crazy after every Mexican point. Unfortunately, both U.S. teams lost. I saw the women’s team at dinner and they were in good spirits. I’m glad we were on hand to be part of their small group of supporters in the stands.

We have four more races scheduled over the next two days, and then a medal race on Sunday for the top five boats. In the medal race, the points are double whatever the finish position is, and it cannot be discarded. It’s starting to look like it could come down to us and Brazil as there’s a bit of a gap to 3rd place, so there should be some interesting tactical situations and exciting face offs. A seven-boat regatta has a very different dynamic than the typical big-fleet racing events I sail. For instance, if you’re sailing a 40 boat event, you could round the leeward gate in 18th, and grind back to a top 10 over the next 2 legs. Here, if you round the gate in third, it’s incredibly difficult to pass even one boat. So while every point matters in a typical event, every point is absolutely precious here. If you lose them, it’s really hard to get them back.

Fun fact: I speak a little bit of broken Spanish but Jay Lutz speaks a little bit of fluent Spanish, mostly related to ordering food and beer (cervezas!)-- I'm learning fast!

I mentioned in my last post that the points were shaping up such that we could see some interesting scenarios, and that was certainly the case. On Thursday, we went after Brazil in the pre-start in race 8. Since we had a better drop race than them, we could extend our lead if we forced them into another bad race. We had a great start to windward of them and were able to pin them out to the un-favored side. At one point, we were winning while they were in 6th, but things change quite a bit over the length of a 6 leg, 80 minute race. We had to shift gears again and tack on them relentlessly up the last beat. We were successful, though, and after 8 races we had our biggest lead of the regatta— a whopping 3 points.

On Saturday we were in full match race mode with Brazil, so the pre-starts were pretty intense. We ended up even on the day, still with a 3-points lead, but we had one especially exciting exchange to maintain that lead. Going down the last run of the 2nd race were about 3 boat lengths behind Brazil. We soaked low on them and then jibed right on top of them.  We began to roll them and then jibed back at them with the starboard advantage. We pinned them past lay line and then jibed back with the pole on the head stay and went on for a hard-earned 2nd.

The medal races on Sunday were only half the length of the normal races for most of the fleets. The Lightnings started before us and we were able to watch their entire race before our start. The RC had to do this format because they had to use the same three umpire boats for each race. That’s right, medal races were umpired and if you got a penalty, you had to do a 360 immediately.

For our medal race, we became engaged with Brazil even before the 5-minute warning went off (is that legal? who knows, umpires didn't seem to care).  At less than a minute to the start, we gained an advantage and drew a windward-leeward foul. Brazil had to spin and we continued to slow them down after they came out of their penalty turn. Meanwhile, the other 3 boats were sailing off at least a minute in front of us, duking it out for the bronze. We had a few tacking exchanges with Brazil, and on the last one, they were able to draw a foul on us. We had to spin, but even though we were in last and Brazil was now fourth, it looked like we might have created enough of a gap to the fleet that they would not be able to put the boat in between us that they needed for the gold. Unfortunately, at the bottom of the first run, Peru and Argentina got in a luffing match and Brazil closed the gap. Up the 2nd beat, Brazil passed Argentina. We were just too far behind to do anything and we had to watch as Brazil crossed the finish in third. It was heartbreaking.

I ran into Jody Lutz from the Lightning team at out hotel and he was experiencing similar feelings. We both recognized the achievement of winning a silver medal here, but were very disappointed at coming so close to the gold and watching it slip away. The medal ceremony on the water in downtown Puerto Vallarta helped cushion the blow a bit—the typical awards banquet doesn’t come close to this experience. I’ll always remember Geoff posing for a picture with his two young boys holding his medal – they looked very proud of Dad.

The Pan American Games was like no other regatta I’ve ever sailed. An outsider might look at it and see there are only 7 boats, and think, "That can’t be nearly as hard as a Worlds or North Americans.”  The comparison is pointless. They’re so completely different that it’s not really the same game.

On behalf of USA 5235, I’d like to give a huge thanks to the US SAILING and U.S. Olympic Committee staff for all of their work here.  I hope you’ve enjoyed following along, and a few years from now, will consider lacing it up and competing in your class’s trials for a chance to represent the U.S. at this great event."  Courtesy of Dan Rabin and Sailing World- http://www.sailingworld.com/blogs   For more Pan Am Games sailing information.

  

J/24 Octopussy Graphic Option?

Holy Monster Tentacles! Canadian J/24 Class President Dale Robertson recently made a splash in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when he took advantage of a Hip Hop festival organized by the City of Halifax. "Live Art" is a component of the hip hop culture and the organizers were looking for a boat to paint. World renowned artist Aaron Li-Hill, from Toronto, was flown in for this event and Dale's boat became his canvas at the Nova Scotia Art Museum in September, and then the next day at the Halifax Commons. Thousands of people witnessed Aaron and local Halifax artist Christian Toth, also well known, turned the J24 into the remarkable artwork that can be seen in these photos. Dale then had Luke Porter, a local boat repair expert, paint a clear coat of urethane over the art to protect it. Dale's boat is now an attraction at Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, both on and off the water. Photos courtesy of Billy, and thanks to Greg B for the story in Sailing Anarchy/ Home page- http://www.sailinganarchy.com

  

VOR 70s & J/24 Style Decks!?

(Alicante, Spain)- Yes, according to Ken Read (he would know, of course)!  And, there are significant design differences, too.  Ken Read (USA), skipper of PUMA Ocean Racing, provides his observations of the fleet-

"One of the best parts of participating in a development class is when the boats break out of the shed and you see all of the parts and pieces that others have thought of…and they in turn see what you have done. We went with as low a CG as possible with our entire program. Deck and cabin house design were done to get the weight low and to make sure we kept the all up boat weight at or below the minimum. A couple of the new boats went with "J-24" style decks with no cabin house for a lower windage look. It is all a wash probably, but we like where we ended up.

Abu Dhabi also went with an open cockpit design to get their sail stack lower. We think that the new rules concerning less sails and the lack of being able to fill the very aft compartment in the boat with gear in heavy downwind conditions dissuaded us from going open cockpit. We felt we needed the stacking area downstairs, area that an open cockpit wouldn't give you.

Camper's adjustable headstay system has been a major topic. While the rest of the fleet pinned their headstay at one length, Camper has a hydraulic ram to adjust the rake of the mast in different conditions. For sure the rest of the fleet read the rule in a way that you couldn't do this, but the rules makers had a different idea.

The Camper boat is also different with the daggerboards behind the keel and mast. The rest of the fleet has gone in the other direction. Our daggerboards are actually further forward than even Ericsson 4 had last race - the winning Juan K design. All the Juan K-designed boats - us, Telefonica and Groupama - have negative dihedrals on the daggerboards, also a new look for the class (bottom of board angles toward each other).

The hull shapes have all gone fuller forward. The three Juan K boats are noticeably fuller forward than even Ericsson 4. A very flat forward section underwater with a distinct forward rocker is clearly there to try and get the bow out of the water at pace. Abu Dhabi is even more extreme as their huge bow section is certainly designed for "bow up" sailing, although they
seem to have less transom immersion than the Juan K boats. Camper on the other hand seems to be a bit of a development from our old PUMA boat with some new fullness forward, but not nearly where the other boats have gone.

Look for each boat to have their condition, including Sanya who may "own" light air in this fleet.  The die is cast. This is going to be a serious boat race with a ton of lead changes depending on the conditions."

Good Luck, Ken!  Fair Winds, Fast Sailing! The J/Community will channel positive energy to the PUMA MAR MASTRO gang around the globe!

  

BUBBLES Wins Ugotta Regatta Wayzata!

(Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota)- J/24 Fleet #1 is the first and oldest J/24 fleet in the world. They held their Ugotta Regatta last week at Wayzata Yacht Club, one of the oldest clubs in Minnesota.  Chairman Josh Bone sent in his report of the event.

"We had a great showing of out-of-town boats and regatta participation was up 30% over last year for the Ugotta on October 7-9. A special thank you to: 2XS, MIJAH, STRANGE CREW, CONTEXT, “2”, U-LA-LA and INSATIABLE. Boats came from Duluth, Chicago, and other parts of the Midwest. One skipper came from Florida, another from Chicago and there was even one crew member from Spain! We even have our very own Olympic Medalist racing out there, Billy Allen. This is THE place to be. While Scows are known here, there is also a great keelboat scene. We also have the only real racers’ party of the year up here (I say that to challenge others to step up their game!).  We do a full bar (out of an old E-Scow, no less!), sponsored beer and a community shrimp boil, no fancy tablecloths for us, and all for 10 bucks per person.

The J/24 district qualifier for the 2012 J/24 Worlds had 20 competitors and excellent race management from our inspiring PRO Blake Middleton – a true racers’ PRO. Blake had been on a whirlwind tour of the globe just before the event, and we were lucky to have him back on Lake Minnetonka.

Our Race Committee and competitors raced 5 races on Saturday in winds from 7kts to 17kts. Sunday was very light in the morning. The call was made to wait. The wind came in with 10 minutes to spare on the limit. The race was won by Terry Neff and his crew aboard "BUBBLES". Job well done Terry! It was in the 80's both days.

This race was also a true tiebreaker between BUBBLES and ZOOM. Zoom had some issues with the pin due to an unforeseen additional left shift. It was awful to see them get tangled with the mark in such an important race. Terry was above him. Terry bought the left side big, followed closely by John Heaton on USA 592 Mijah. Motorhome went right, or really just on port because the left was really big for a long time. Bubbles rounded in first, Motorhome in 2nd, Mijah in 3rd. Zoom was really deep, but blasting thru the fleet, always a contender. Motorhome was passed by Mijah at the first leeward gate. Bubbles had launched, at one point I couldn't see them. Then we saw them on the 2nd downwind leg, 250 yards ahead of us. We started to open a delicious Surly Furious, when a puff nearly knocked us over. The wind had gone very hard to the right, 25 - 30 degrees. Bubbles rounded the right gate in first, Mijah followed in second, and Motorhome went to the left gate. It was a thrilling race. At the final cross Bubbles crossed Motorhome by only 2 boat lengths. Motorhome cheered for them when the gun went off, continued to hike for a 2nd place in the race. Mijah was 3rd. Guess who was 4th? ZOOM!

BUBBLES won the regatta by 2 points. Picture is attached of them with their trophy full of delicious Surly Brewing Co.'s amazing product.  The "Spanking Award" went to co-winners Mark Soya and Dave DeSanto (they were very bad boys)!

"We were fortunate to have good wind and the boat was set up for it. And we had the benefit of sailing districts in Maine (40+ boats) a few weeks before. I got the bad starts out of my system. You need to have things go your way. And that's what happened." - Terry Neff (Owner and Helmsman of BUBBLES). BUBBLES crew was: Terry Neff, Sean Delaney, Paula Neff, Mark Oppen and Paul "Jake" Jacobs.

WYC hopes to see you all again next year. They also welcome you to the 2013 J/24 National Championship!  Thanks for contribution from Sailing Anarchy-  Photos from Mark Puariea

  

J/24 Pan Am Games Update

(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)- USA team Manager Dave Johnson provided this recent update on the American sailing team and, specifically, the American J/24 Team.  By the way, the USA Pan Am Games team is packed with current/ former J/24 sailors, including Augie Diaz (Snipe), Lutz Brothers from Texas (Lightning), Foerster (Sunfish), so are the other Pan Am Teams!

Said Dave, "Today was a great start to the Pan Am Games for Team USA. All three courses sailed today in 6-12 kts breeze and lots of sun. On the far course Charlie (J/24, Lightning, Snipe) got the first race off with consistently more breeze. The J/24 team of Mollicone, Rabin, Becker, and Abdullah went 1-1 as their boat speed proved superior on the long course.

"We really used speed to our advantage," said John Mollicone, skipper for the J/24. "The races are really long, even longer than Worlds."  With a much smaller fleet of boats in the Pan Am Games, John pointed out that keeping your competition in check is critical in the long races.

And what John said makes sense because one boat going out on a flyer could be a hero or a zero, as they say. In their 7-boat fleet, one boat is nearly 15% of the fleet.

Our Lightning Team of the Lutz brothers (Jody - skipper, Jay - crew) and Greg Thomas also sailed a top performance today, going 1-3 and tied for the lead with Brazil. They too had long races today but their fleet was intense. With teams not leaving any good 'lanes' open, having clear air and a clean lane is important.

Other good performances include four-time Olympian, Paul Foerster, sitting atop the Sunfish fleet with a 1-2. Augie Diaz and Kathleen Tocke finished 2-4 in the Snipe class while Paige Railey went 5-1 in the Radial.

For more USA sailing team information:
USA team: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-Pan-Am-2011
Event website: http://www.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/01_inicio
Results: http://tinyurl.com/PAG-2011-results

  

J/24 "The Situation" Pioneers New Electronics

* "Yo, it's the situation, dude!"  Jah, mon!  Cool story, about the resurrection of a really OLD (a.k.a. "classic") J/24.  Skipper David Heisserer and accomplice Dillon Hodapp sail the J/24 THE SITUATION, hull #15 built in 1977 (the math means it's 34 years old!), and race in J/24 Fleet #1. She has picked up the infamous nickname “Red Boat” - strangely fitting for the Russian components on-board.

Skipper David and accomplice Dillon have designed and built a digital compass that uses nixi tubes - a cold war era vacuum tube that produces a glowing number. Inside they use an extremely precise Honeywell two axis digital compass chip. The precision is on par with high end sailing compasses on the market. The compass displays lifts and headers by displaying a plus or minus and the degree on each board. The windows are laser cut with a J/24 polar diagram on Starboard and a map of Lake Minnetonka on Port.

“We were looking for an outrageous aesthetic without sacrificing function.”

The boat is back from the dead after 20 years of neglect, every part of the project has been DIY. THE SITUATION  races at WYC in Minnesota and is creeping up from the back of the fleet. The club will be hosting the 2013 J/24 Nationals where they hope to make an appearance.

David an artist/designer and Dillon a mechanical engineer, are recent winners of Red Bull Creation an invention contest in New York this summer. Their company Mixed Media Engineering does product design and experiential marketing pushing always for artistic and unbelievable builds.  They have been featured on CNN money, are in the November issue of Popular Mechanics Magazine, and have been featured on psfk.com, techcrunch.com and coolthings.com for their creations.
Thanks for contribution from Sailing Anarchy home page.

  

Halloween J/24 East Coasts Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- The 2011 HCM (Hillman Capital Management) J/24 East Coast Championship will be a 21st Century Event like you cannot imagine-- Halloween costumes included!  This Fall Classic will be better than ever. Live race video and commentary on the web, coaching on the water and debriefing (with cocktails) on-shore are part of this year's event.

Nearly SIXTY boats are competing and the entry list keeps growing like kudzu weed every day.  At the moment, forgetting the fact that Ken Read, Brad Read, Terry Hutchinson and Ed Baird, amongst others, are a bit busy with some other sailing events, this year's J/24 East Coasts reads like a "who's who" of current class leaders-- all capable of winning since amongst them are World Champions, North American Champions, Midwinter Champions and Champion of Champions-- did we miss anything here?

In completely random order are teams that you've got to watch out for on the leader-board since they can all wreak havoc at a moments notice.  Amongst them, look for some characters on the yacht called COUGAR with Will Welles and Chuckie Allen brokering traffic behind them.  Class stalwart on BANGOR PACKET, Tony Parker, is working with friend Geoff Ewenson to keep them out of the corners.  Some guy named Tim Healy skippering SAILORS FOR THE SEA hopes to ensure his World's credentials aren't resigned to the ash-heap of history.  Keeping everyone in check at the start line and, most certainly, at the corners of the course are World Team Race Champions and another J/24 not-so-newb sailing WEST MARINE RIGGING- do both Peter and Carol Levesque and Charlie Enright ring a bell (is that fair?)?  Then, don't forget some old characters who are a throwback to the past in the J/24 class (like Mr Parker) but may be far, far more dangerous than ANY scorpion bite you've ever encountered-- a pilot/trainer for Alaska Airlines called Mark Laura may have your number far faster than you can snap themselves into a seat-belt, plus he's got MIT Master of the Universe Number Cruncher Steve Cucchiaro calling statistical analyses and tactical arbitration on every puff and wind shift.  If that weren't enough, fellow Bostonian Mark Hillman (yeah, the regatta sponsor) on WIP has a helluva strong team, so does Dave Van Cleef on CAROLINA GIRL.  Nameless on their boats, but absolutely not nameless in their track records are Mike Ingham (doh, another J/24 Champion?) from Rochester, NY and Mike Hobson (Ultimate Yacht Race Champion) from Annapolis, MD simply making sure the younger kids on the block don't get too uppity.

So, why such a stellar group of J/24 sailors thrashing around the buoys in Annapolis in late October masquerading in all kinds of Halloween costumes trying to remain un-noticed in the parking lots, chain hoists and the yacht club bar?  Well, next year's J/24 Worlds in Rochester, NY are an "open" J/24 Worlds, the first ever.  And, this event in Annapolis is one of the last "district" events you have to sail in to qualify to sail next year's 2012 J/24 Worlds!  That also explains why the "long distance" traveler award can already be named! TEAM SOKOKUMARU with Satoshi Kume from Tokyo, Japan at the helm-- now's never too late to get some practice in for next year!  For more J/24 HCM East Coast Championships sailing information

  

J/24 Pan Am Games

(Guadalajara, Mexico)- One week from today, hundreds of American athletes across the country will assemble in Houston en-route to the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Dan Rabin is a member of the US J/24 Team and had this early commentary before the event gets rolling:  "Sailing World is providing me with this forum to share my experience of being part of the U.S. Team as we compete in the J/24 Class in Puerto Vallarta.

It seems like ages ago that we won the U.S. Pan Am Games Trials at Davis Island YC last February. Our team for that regatta on Tampa Bay consisted of John Mollicone on the tiller, Tim Healy on tactics, Geoff Becker trimming, and me on the bow.

The Pan Am format for the J/24 is unique: the crew weight limit is trimmed from 882 pounds to 705 pounds, and the genoa is eliminated. The boat does feel remarkably better with the extra space on deck. As far as sailing with only a blade, the boat has plenty of power as soon as the breeze gets up to 8 knots or so.

The Trials was a battle between a group of class veterans including Robby Brown, Charlie Enright, Will Welles, and Flip Wehrheim. We were very fortunate to come out on top.  The imminence of the Games hit me one evening in mid-September when I found two representatives of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency standing on my porch. We've been subject to random drug testing since April 1, and sure enough, they finally paid each of us a visit in the span of a week. To the athletes who have to go through this ordeal on a regular basis, I salute you.

FORECAST: We recall it being a challenge to get updates from the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil. And it is always a challenge to get updates from Mexican regattas. Putting the two together and we could be in for some serious online silence. The Pan Am Games sailing events, which will include Men's Laser, Men's Windsurf, Women's Laser Radial, Women's Windsurf, Mixed Hobie 16, and Open J/24, Sunfish, Snipe, and Lightning, are scheduled for October 17-23."  Thanks for contributions from Dan Rabin/ Sailing World
For more Pan Am Sailing Games J/24 sailing information.   Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wilkes.com

  

Triple-crown of World Sailing taken by J/24 Sailors?

Maybe.  Ed Baird just won the Audi TP52 World Championship on QUANTUM RACING.  If Ken Read wins the Volvo Ocean Race on the VOR 70s with his PUMA MAR MOSTRO and Terry Hutchinson wins the America's Cup 34 with ARTEMIS RACING, it can legitimately be said that one-design J/Racing is "where it's at".  After all, all three are past J/24 World Champions.  Go figure.  Many champions in many other classes compete against them, but still, it just seems the J/22, J/24 and J/80 World Champions continue to dominate offshore, too.  Fastnet, Transpac, Trans-Atlantic, Chicago-Mac, Bermuda, Rolex Middle Sea, RORC 600, just to name a few.  And, in many other classes.  Lessons learned?  Here's an "off-the-wall" idea-- sail a J/24 in the East Coast Championship on Halloween Weekend in Annapolis, then sail the J/24 "Open" Worlds in Rochester, NY in 2012, then graduate to dominate the planet.  Won't be the first, nor last time this will happen.  :)

Anyhow, back to what just happened.  Off that picturesque little town called Porto Cervo, Italy, good'ole Ed Baird showed he's still got some "MoJo" left in him and showed that winning an America's Cup with ALINGHI was no fluke.  Continuing QUANTUM RACING's near total domination of the TP52 World Circuit, Ed and crew picked up their third title in four years of sailing.  Not bad, really.  They added to Worlds wins in 2008 in Lanzarote and defended the title they won last year Valencia.  Emerging with a four points margin over Germany's CONTAINER, the American flagged QUANTUM team complete the same "double" as they did in 2008, winning both the Audi MedCup Circuit title as well as the World Championship. Congratulations Ed, I'm sure Lisa and the boys want you back home in St Pete to cook some food for those fast-growing boys!!  What's so ironic about all this?  One of the original "architects" of the TP52 circuit and one its "chief cheerleaders" was none other than North Sail's Ken Read! And, Quantum Sail's Terry Hutchinson won the Audi TP52 Circuit twice before!  Wonders never cease.   For more Audi TP52 MedCup/ World Championship sailing information

  

Sailing's Triple-Crown: J/24 Sailors?

* Triple-crown of World Sailing taken by J/24 Sailors?  Maybe.  Ed Baird just won the Audi TP52 World Championship on QUANTUM RACING.  If Ken Read wins the Volvo Ocean Race on the VOR 70s with his PUMA MAR MOSTRO and Terry Hutchinson wins the America's Cup 34 with ARTEMIS RACING, it can legitimately be said that one-design J/Racing is "where it's at".  After all, all three are past J/24 World Champions.  Go figure.  Many champions in many other classes compete against them, but still, it just seems the J/22, J/24 and J/80 World Champions continue to dominate offshore, too.  Fastnet, Transpac, Trans-Atlantic, Chicago-Mac, Bermuda, Rolex Middle Sea, RORC 600, just to name a few.  And, in many other classes.  Lessons learned?  Here's an "off-the-wall" idea-- sail a J/24 in the East Coast Championship on Halloween Weekend in Annapolis, then sail the J/24 "Open" Worlds in Rochester, NY in 2012, then graduate to dominate the planet.  Won't be the first, nor last time this will happen.  :)

Anyhow, back to what just happened.  Off that picturesque little town called Porto Cervo, Italy, good'ole Ed Baird showed he's still got some "MoJo" left in him and showed that winning an America's Cup with ALINGHI was no fluke.  Continuing QUANTUM RACING's near total domination of the TP52 World Circuit, Ed and crew picked up their third title in four years of sailing.  Not bad, really.  They added to Worlds wins in 2008 in Lanzarote and defended the title they won last year Valencia.  Emerging with a four points margin over Germany's CONTAINER, the American flagged QUANTUM team complete the same "double" as they did in 2008, winning both the Audi MedCup Circuit title as well as the World Championship. Congratulations Ed, I'm sure Lisa and the boys want you back home in St Pete to cook some food for those fast-growing boys!!  What's so ironic about all this?  One of the original "architects" of the TP52 circuit and one its "chief cheerleaders" was none other than North Sail's Ken Read! And, Quantum Sail's Terry Hutchinson won the Audi TP52 Circuit twice before!  Wonders never cease.   For more Audi TP52 MedCup/ World Championship sailing information

  

Thoughts on One-Design Growth- by Dawn Nelson

*  "Friends & Mentors" - Dawn Nelson, who sails out of Chandlers Landing Yacht Club in Rockwall, Texas, is a Child & Family Therapist and a sailing mom. Here she provides her professional and personal experience regarding one design fleet growth:

Ever walked into a party and felt like the whole room stopped and stared at you?

If you're part of a fleet that is trying to encourage kids to sail with you, being a "strong fleet" won't help at all if everyone is staring at the kids when they come to the big party, aka the regatta. There are two things you should consider:

1) Are you making the kids feel welcome, off the water as well as on the water? It's easy for adults to sail with the kids, teach them during the races, and then at the dock, walk over to the keg and talk 'above' the kids. If they aren't welcome at your table, they won't want to be on the boat for very long. If you answered 'yes', are the kids being included in the sailing discussions at the table? Are adults talking to them, not condescending down to them?

2) Speaking of condescending, when you get an experienced youth sailor in a regatta, cheating is a really good way to get kids to choose a different boat class. That kid at the helm of that keelboat, the one that another boat's skipper is yelling at, trying to intimidate him to get off the starting line, has probably sailed in more regattas because he doesn't have to work all summer. If he wanted to, the kid could quote the RRS sections and numbers, and successfully protest for violating his right-of-way and lack of sportsmanship. But he won't do that; he'll just never sail your boat class again (true story)!

At 9, 7, and 4 years old, my sons fell in love with sailing on a J/22; just them and one extremely patient skipper. The boys have since raced in national and international championships in eight different boat classes in eight years. Yes, they love high-tech and speed, and are currently begging for a Nacra F18, but on any given Wednesday night, you'll find a 17 year old working spin on a J/92, the 15 year old on the helm of a J/22, and the 12 year old cranking sheets on a Hunter 35.... because it's the relationships that make the difference.

The sailing crowd are friends AND mentors.   Thanks for contribution from SailingScuttlebutt.com

  

PACEMAKER Wins J/24 NSWs

(Gosford, NSW, Australia)- What a weekend!?  Five boats from Victoria making the huge effort to come to Gosford, New South Wales for the J/24 NSW Championship!  Four boats from Pacific Sailing School with instructors skippering and students, some very new to the sport on board, making it to Gosford, NSW!  Amazing!! Terry Wise skippering BANDIT! Shocking!!  Some of the old die-hard fleet returning for more hot racing!  Just can't stay away from that hot, hot, hot one-design called the J/24.  24 what?  The over-the-hill gang rides again and initiates a few new swabs for crew along the way.  Love it!  You can recruit new crew from ANYWHERE-- free food, free beer, free sailing, you just can't lose on that proposition.

Saturday gave the teams assembled from across the vast expanse of Oz blue skies and a light breeze oscillating up to 50 degrees at times---  hmmm, difficult for most!!  Sunday was another story altogether-- torrential rain for the first race, coupled with a breeze most reckon was up to 35knots at times. Tough conditions that saw just 8 of the original 15 boats race the final race of the day as one by one we saw J’s heading back towards the club!!

Gosford Sailing Club did a helluva job, tip a few "tinnies" to the GSC PRO and RC and "lovelies" helping out.  Gosford gave us the intended four races each day – an achievement in itself given the appalling conditions Sunday brought!  "Pure adrenalin", "survival mode", "what, this is why we go racing" were phrases that were bandied around back at the club afterwards.  We believe one member of KAOTIC might have also mentioned "wet"-- and that wasn’t the rain!  Ha, Ha, Ha.  Lovely, those boys.

The results say it all.  A very competitive fleet. Five of the race wins going to current VIC Champion David Suda on PACEMAKER, while Sean Kirkjian on SAILPAC, current National champion, took out the other 3 firsts!  They were strongly contended by many of the other boats though and competition couldn’t have been closer at times!  Behind these two teams, lying third was Chris Lee on VORTEX, fourth Hugh Ottoway on BRUSCHETTA VI and fifth Brendan Lee on BY THE LEE!

Said Paula about the racing, "I am proud to be part of this fleet.  And, mostly very proud to get through a State Championships and see not one red flag and not one prang!!  Well done everyone and thanks!  Also, a big thank you to Gosford Sailing Club for hosting a great regatta yet again, and also to our sponsor, UVEX for providing great prizes once more."   For more J/24 NSW Australia Championships sailing information

  

WATERLINES Loves J/24 COC's

(Lake George, NY)-  With registration closed out at seventy boats, it was certain to be yet another epic adventure for ANY J/24 team showing up for that extraordinary experience known as the Changing of the Colors Regatta.  Sailed on Lake George, NY in the upper Adirondack Mountains, one cannot simply imagine a more picturesque place to sail in the world (except, perhaps our dear friends on Lago di Garda, Italy (or Lago Maggiore) or any of the Swiss/ Austrian lakes or even that famous lake at nose-bleed level in Lake Dillon, CO or in Argentina's Andes Mountains!).  Ok, we understand, it's bloody gorgeous and you should make it a point to put on your bucket list of sailing events ALL J/24 events that take place in "high elevations", none of which you'd ever want to miss because the charm of them are the people, the location and the crazy sailing!  Wouldn't you just love 90 degree shifts from 5 kts to 25 kts!

Notwithstanding the highly entertaining value of sailing in such venues (remember, one beer a mile up is worth three on the ground!), the sailing can be fun and extremely competitive.  While the folks in Lake George worried about "tempests in a teapot" (or their "tea", God forbid) as Hurricane Irene passed by a bit too close, the party HAD to go ON!  And, "ON" it was for the rabid band of revelers that made the annual "Woodstock-like migration" to Lake George (for you history buffs, Woodstock is not that far away from this place).  The J/24 sailors were treated to yet another great event, the Lake George Club rolled out the "red carpet" and ensured the great sailing was complimented by great onshore festivities.   Forewarned, in this case, was forearmed!  "Dress for the 80's and get ready to party with "Rattail Jimmy" on Saturday night following dinner at the club!"  That they did, with many crews paying the price the next day.  An example of these characters here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d772Rphpqdc

In the end, it looked like Travis Odenbach and crew continue "on a roll", demonstrating to many they could nearly win the party but still sail, too.  After only three races (due to a less than cooperative weather forecast), Travis's crew on WATERLINES won by a squeaker, their 2-1-6 for 9 pts just besting Dave Van Cleef's 3-5-2 on CAROLINA GIRL.  J/24 World Champion Tim Healy on 11th HOUR RACING sailed a dazzling/ not-so-dazzling 1-12-1 for 14 pts to snag third.  Following this crowd was the re-emergence of J/24 veteran Kirk Reynolds (like Tony Parker on BANGOR PACKET) sailing OKIE BOATING in fourth just two points back with 16 pts and fifth was John Whynacht from Canada (top foreigner) sailing STICKY FINGERS.  For more J/24 Changing of Colors sailing results.

  

PUNTO J Wins J/24 Italian Open Championship

(Anzio, Italy)- Over the past weekend, the town of Anzio (south of Rome on the Mediterranean coastline) turned into a festival of sailing: one hundred and twenty sailors, sailing enthusiasts and many, many curious passers-by enjoyed the summer-like weather.

The competition was strong and the excellent turnout of twenty-two J/24s made for a lot of fun and many lead changes!  After seven races, it was clear that Ignazio Bonanno on PUNTO J sailing for Centro Velico Marina Militare won in a convincing fashion with a 2-1-2-1-2-5-4 scoreline for just 12 pts.  Second was Fabio Delicati on DJKE from Sezione Velica Anzio (the local sailing club) with a 4-3-4-ocs-4-1-2 for 18 pts.  Fabio was a contender for the regatta lead until their unfortunate OCS in Race 4.  In third on the podium was Francesco Cruciani steering AVOLTORE from Vela Club Tarkna sailing to a 1-4-5-3-1-11 for 19 points.  Francesco  basically lost any chance of wining the regatta or getting second by bombing their last race. Instead, they just won out on a tie-breaker to get third, beating Pietro Diamanti racing JAMAICA that sailed to a 7-8-3-2-3-3-1 scoreline also for 19 pts.  Fifth was Paolo Rinaldi on AMERICAN PASSAGE with 35 pts.

During the Awards ceremony the "Prize Cruciani" went to the crew that got the best finish in four events that constituted the Italian J/24 Circuit (Spring Trophy Argentario, Pasquavela, National Championship and Italian Cup)- the winner was Francesco Crucianin on AVOLTORE

The Race Committee, composed of Riccardo Maurizi, Luciano Crocetta, Stefano and Paola Rizzo Piozzi, managed to run seven races in three days despite the wind never exceeded 7 knots! "The presence of a large turnout of J/24 teams for the Italian Cup and the meticulous checks by the J/24 class measurer, Cesare Cislaghi, contributed to the prestige of the event," said Paul D'Aloisio.  Furthermore, sailed Paul, "Anzio has now become one of Italy's most important spots for racing in one design and collaboration between the J/24 Class and the Italian Navy League in Tiber, Remo and Rome means many more J/24 sailors can join in the fun!  Next season we expect thirty boats! This is a great signal and shows how important this class is still alive in Italy and that does not matter the age of things but the ability to make them be alive."  We could not have said it any better than that, in Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Chinese or French!    For more J/24 Italy Cup sailing information.

  

J/24 Worlds Argentina Youtube Promo

IF Mayan prophecies come true in 2012, could it be true this might be the last J/24 Worlds on Planet Earth?  Probably not, since even the Mayans themselves didn't' make it-- if they were so smart, why aren't they around today?!  Many sailors are looking forward to the epic 2012 J/24 Open Worlds in Rochester, NY-- the first ever OPEN J/24 Worlds!  Could there be a world-record set for J/24s (or any one-design ISAF keelboat) racing in a World Championship?  Perhaps.  PRO Hank Stuart thinks it will be "no problem, we'll just keep setting more 'mid-line' boats equipped with low-intensity lasers that burn holes in jibs as a simple means of "branding" teams pushing the line too hard."  Ooops.  Don't want too many of those tattoos, some jibs may look like Swiss Cheese! :)  So, for more entertainment value, have a look at this YouTube video for the Argentine J/24 Worlds (it is amusing, to say the least).

J/24 Worlds promo- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5EVfzg-Oq0

  

Ken Read Starting VOR 70 on Puma Mar Mastro

Former uber J/24 World Champion Ken is at it again.  It's hard to believe that Ken Read, at 50 years old, is headed out to the open seas again on the Volvo 70 PUMA Mar Mastro.  Guess that famous poem, "Sea Fever" by John Masefield, must be beckoning again-- the "call of the running tide is a wild call, a clear call, that may not be denied!"  We wish him luck and God Speed.  Here's a quickie report from Ken as he participates in what many offshore sailors might call "the head-bangers ball"-- beating upwind for 800nm in 8-15 foot waves and 15-35 kts breeze.

Reports Kenny on the first day out: "After a pretty successful Transatlantic Race, we took a right turn and sailed downwind in the trades all the way to the Puerto Calero Marina. It's a fairly secluded marine facility on one of the windiest islands I have ever been to. Every day you get up to what sounds like the roof of your apartment being blown off. "Here we go again," I would say to myself day after day - now I know what all the boys felt like that did the America's Cup in Fremantle in 1987. The wind every day just wears you out, but it was exactly what we needed.

So, now we are paying for that fantastic downwind sail all the way to the Canaries. It is upwind for about 800 miles, against the trades and into the Mediterranean to Alicante, Spain, for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race.

By rule we have to be there I believe by the third of October, one month before the start. If everything goes according to plan, we should be there a couple days before. We may actually take our time as well and do some more testing. You never know out here, and having a plan that can change literally with the wind is important.

The thing is, once you get to Alicante, the testing is over. Then, it is on to boat measurement, all the pre-race seminars we have to attend, the press, the public, simply all the distractions - and essentially anything but testing! There may be a couple more quick tweaks to the boat, but surely the pre-race prep phase is for the most part over.

The most commonly asked question?  "Are you guys ready?"  Ha, ha! The truth is nobody is ever really "ready." We are what we are. We are as prepared as we can be, and now its time to see whose plan had the most merit leading up to race time. All of the competition went about their pre race planning a bit different. We have been pretty quiet this time and just went about our business. Day after day, trying to tick off boxes that we felt were important in the grand scheme of things.  I like where we are at, but at the same time it would be great to have about another year to prepare. You are never perfect, but "we are what we are" and it does feel like we are paying for that sleigh ride south in July. Just another brutal reminder of how glamorous offshore sailing can be!

For more Puma Ocean Racing VOR 70 sailing information:
http://www.puma.com/sailing
http://www.facebook.com/PumaOceanRacing