J Sailors Enjoy Last Hot Rum Race III

(San Diego, CA)- This year's San Diego YC's Hot Rum Series could be deemed a "classic" Hot Rum Series, sun, fun, gentle sea-breezes and laid-back sailing.  Basically, you just start off the Piers near SDYC, beat out in a lightish Southwest 5-8 knot breeze, tacking up under the Point Loma shoreline, making sure to not run over any incredibly curious sea-lions, avoiding the US Navy submarine pen tucked under the Loma cliffs (currently nurturing an old "boomer"--one of those monsters of the deep that lurk beneath the surface of the world's oceans for a century armed to the teeth with a gazillion MIRV'd nuclear warheads), turning left to go offshore to a marker way south of Coronado Island, then reach/fetch back to the finish and head home.  Easy.  Simple to follow the directions.  And, hundreds of sailors love to do it as their fall (or early winter) right of passage just before the Christmas holiday shopping spree often lubricated with a bit of "cinnamon-spiced hot rum cider"!

This year's event seemed to be skewed to the much larger boats- the 50 to 70-plus footers that were roaring around the course with their towering rigs.  Nevertheless, amongst the J/125s in PHRF 1, Jim Madden's crew on STARK RAVING MAD led the pack of J/125s and ended up 9th in class.  From there, the standings flip-flopped for the other three 125s. Second J/125 in the class was Viggo Torbenson's TIMESHAVER with the unusual paint job (white topsides with a PINK bottom paint!).  Third was Tim Fuller's RESOLUTE and fourth in the 125s was Mark Surber's DERIVATIVE.

Because of throw-outs, the PHRF 2 Class also saw a complete jumbling of their standings.  Local ring-leader Chuck Nicholl sailing his famous J/120 CC RIDER dropped to 4th in class and first in the J/120s.  John Laun's J/120 CAPER was next, finishing 5th in class and 2nd J/120.  Third J/120 was Mike Hatch's J-ALMIGHTY sitting 9th in class.   Top J/109 was Daylen Teren's GREAT BALLS OF FIRE, lying 12th in class.  And, top J/124 was Seth Hall's MARISOL in 18th class, just ahead of Tom Barker's  J/124 GOOD CALL finishing 19th in class.  This was a huge class, with 38 boats sailing on ONE starting line!

The J/105s sailed very well in PHRF Class 3, with Dennis and Sharon Case's WINGS leading the pack, finishing 2nd in class and top J/105.  Jumping up into 3rd in class, 2nd J/105 was Dave Vieregg's TRIPLE PLAY with a second on the last race.  Third J/105 was Team Fisher/ Dagostino on VIGGEN, also sailing well on the last day grabbing a third, but not enough to win the tie-breaker over their classmate TRIPLE PLAY.  A good performance was turned in by Herb Zoehrer's J/35 Z-FORCE, finishing 9th in class.

PHRF 4 Class had David Cattle's J/27 BLACKADDER hanging tough to finish 9th in class ahead of J/classmate Steve Worcester's J/32 RHAPSODY at 14th class.

The epic battle for Hot Rum braggin rights in PHRF 5 resulted in a few of the J "classics" melting down while others soared like Phoenix's rising from the ashes.  Mary Snow's J/24 BOGUS secured third overall by virtue of their 1-3 in the first two races, not even sailing the last race and tossing her DNC!  Amazingly, by doing so she lost a three-wayY tie for second-- huge bummer.  Bob Noe's J/30 MAD HATTER was the third leg of that stool, losing the three-way tie and ending up fourth despite having the overall best record of the three boats-- sailing a solid 2-2-4 for the series!  Next time, Bob, next time you'll get that keg of hot rum! Shala Lawrence's cute J/22 NOTHING DRIVES LIKE A RENTAL sadly didn't sail the last race, so had to score a 5-DNF to slide into 7th.   Sailing photo credits- the infamous Sir DA-Woody (a.k.a. Dennis St Onge).  For more San Diego YC Hot Rum Series sailing information

Twilight J/24 Series Raging Success

(Sydney, Australia)- Whilst the Saturday keel boat fraternity wandered back to their pens and the bar after a long day around the sticks the entertainment out front of the club was just beginning.  The critics in the bar were "oooing and awing" as the fleet of eight J/24s performed perfectly choreographed starts and mark roundings for them.  Some with binos and most pausing their drinks as the J/24s sailed a four race set right in front of their eyes. With the start line not much more than 100m off the edge of the bar and a brisk southerly blowing in, the crowd sat on the edge of their chairs as the gladiators performed.

Saturday afternoon turned on some of the best weather we’ve seen this summer and the J’s turned on the action for the first ever J/24 Saturday twilight racing series.  Racing was delayed slightly while we waited for the boats racing in the Club Marine series to get back to the club, but once they were all up in the bar they were treated to some seriously close racing in top end genoa and jib conditions.

Race Officer Glenn Taylor set a short course of windward leeward races inside number 4 mark only metres from the shore!!  The brisk southerly ensured plenty of action with commentary from Luke Matthews giving a blow by blow description keeping all in the bar and deck area patrons enthralled.  The rolling four race format was fast and furious with any mistakes made costing race places in a blink.

With a fleet of eight boats, racing was always going to be tight and after the first two races, the lead was tied with Hugo Ottaway on BRUSCHETTA VI and Kirsty Harris on HYPERACTIVE both scoring a first and a second in both races. Hugo, finding his groove stepped clear in the third race, going a point clear of the girls on HYPERACTIVE. For the last race HYPERACTIVE needed to not only beat Hugo, but put a boat between them, so it was always going to be tough. Cat and mouse in the last start saw both boats start at the back of the pack after an OCS call. However, Hugo ended up getting the upper hand, leaving Kirsty in his wake.

Third in the first two races was the ever present Brendan Lee sailing BY THE LEE, who was always nipping on the leaders heels. This all being said, one of the most exciting moments went to the thrilling victory in the last race by Steve Aulich holding out a fast finishing Hugo to snatch his first race win in J’s.

The competitors loved it, needless to say the spectators LOVED it, too! The first of hopefully many such events highlighting the fun a “J” has to offer.

The fleet is now looking forward to the next installment on 4th February, so make sure you are there with your big eyes and a calming drink!  Thanks for the contribution from Simon Grain.  For more Australian J/24 Twilight Series sailing information

J/24 Italy Winter Championships Report

(Anzio & Nettuna/ Cagliari/ Taranto/ Cervia, Italy)- The J/24s continue to see a strong, and growing, resurgence of sailing across Italy.  Perhaps a throwback to fun times in the past, or a recognition of the ease and fun of finding one cheaply and sailing it with family and friends, focusing on good times, not simply winning at all costs.  Whatever the secret ingredient, it's increasingly apparent the Italian J/24 contingent, much like their Australian friends and Argentinean friends (now World Champions), that simply going out, having fun and messing around in boats is a great thing.  With a few thousand J/24s to tap into, it's pretty easy to get fleets rolling for next to nothing in terms of cost and effort.

At this stage, there are four "winter championships" taking place in Italy in various parts of the country.  In Anzio & Nettuna, just south of Rome along the western coastline of Italy, they've had their third weekend of sailing with TWENTY NINE boats, including several from Hungary and Chekovia!  Luke is winning the series so far, followed by Marco Vincenti in second and Paulo Perinelli in this, Massimo Mariotti in fourth and a women's team led by Manuela Santarcangelo in fifth!

In the Puglian J/24 fleet, they enjoyed a gorgeous SSW 13 kt breeze this past weekend, allowing the SEVENTEEN teams to have three excellent races on the port of Taranto, hosted by the Sailing Club Ondabuena.  Currently, JEBEDEE sailed by Antonio Macina leads the fleet after five races.  In second is DOCTOR J sailed by Team Sandro Negro, third is MATI LTD sailed by Angelo Lombardo, fourth is LUMACHI sailed by Carlo D'Errico and fifth is MARBEA skippered by Marcello Bellacicco.

"The J24 fleet in Puglia was born in the 90's when our monotype experienced the greatest spread in Italy and worldwide, with about 5,400 boats produced at the turn of the twenty-first century, while nationwide it sold 450 boats in Italy! The races were frequent and professional sailors took turns in the leadership role to drive about seventy boats that once trod the fields of every race. Then the birth of more and more new monotypes led to a decrease in the number of boats.  But, the timeless J/24, a solid boat with good performance in all conditions, was slowly brought back to new owners and crews, so that now you go back to J/24 regattas with over fifty boats!  The Pugliese J/24 fleet follows the trend with a crescendo of followers from 2008 to present-- today, many events are concentrated in some areas, but it's expanding again!", says the Chief of the J/24 Fleet in Puglia, Nino Soriano.  Nino also mentioned the creation of a new website for the fleet- please visit http://flottadipuglia.altervista.org

In addition to the growth and developments of the J/24 fleet in Puglia, over in Cervia they were recently hosting the Pirini Stefano Memorial Winter Championship with SEVENTEEN boats!  This past weekend they saw everything- too much wind, fog, no wind, rain on the first day. But, the second day was glorious- sun, fresh mistral of 12-14 kts and calms seas, good enough for three races.  At the moment, CAPTAIN NEMO is winning sailed by Dominic Bright.  Second is KISMET sailed by Antonio Antonelli and third is Joc Fabio sailing APOLLONIUS SOCIETY TRIESTINA.

"A special 'Thanks' to the Friends of the Nautical Club de Cervia, they know how to organize and run a great event and 'Thanks' the sponsors Slam and North Sails who provided gadgets and discount coupons," commented Guido Earnings.

Finally, on that island nation many call Sardinia, the Winter Championships Cagliari were taking place for the Trofeo Ciabattai, hosted by the YC Cagliari.  An excellent FIFTEEN boat turnout for the Sardinian J/24 fleet saw an unusual, but fun, sailing conditions on the island- strong westerlies from 265 degrees blowing 15-20 kts in flat seas off Marina Piccola.  Amongst the leaders of this event are VINEYARDS SURRAU, BOTTA STRAIGHT, LIBARIUM, LYBISSONIS and "Armadillo Racing".   There are great expectations for the last weekend of J/24 in Cagliari, December 17 to 18 when six races are planned and, hopefully, the champion will be determined!   For more Sardinia Island, Italy J/24 sailing information   For more Italian J/24 sailing information

Lucky It Was a J/24 Sailboat!

* How A J/24 Rescued A Boat and Saved Lives At the Lipton Cup
(Port Philip, Australia)- The 2011 Lipton Cup was sailed in true Port Philip conditions, from a 10 knot North Easterly through to 30 knot South Westerly on Saturday. Mix this with blinding rain that persisted all day and you have conditions that test the best of us. Fortunately the weather improved on the Sunday, however, most of the fleet stayed on shore, as the previous day was enough.

Simon Grain and Lisa Simonov won the regatta with 4 straight wins, their J/24 MAKE MY J was quick, well sailed and when required picked shifts that pulled them up through the fleet to win yet another race.

However, something else took place that day that saved a sailor's life.  Here's Hugo Ottoway's account from aboard his J/24 BRUSCHETTA VI- "There was another event that took place that day that made me feel glad that (1) our crew competed (as we only decided to sail the previous day) and (2)  that I sailed such a great boat as a J/24!

In the third race the wind had turned to the South west and kicked in at recorded 30 knots. After a screaming downwind run with the spinnakers Simon and I rounded the bottom mark together, back on the wind, we sailed lower and both boats were about ten boat lengths apart on port tack with Simon slightly astern and to windward.

My crew alerted me that there was a boat from another division that was on starboard and hardly moving, we bore away and as we passed astern we could see that the boat was a mess with her headsail half-furled and two crew occupied with something going on in the open cockpit. The boat’s crew shouted “we have a man overboard”, which sent a shock right through the whole of our crew, we replied “where”, one pointed directly downwind. Through the blinding rain we could just see a tiny black shape about 200 meters away.

Jack on the bow tripped the jib, and kept his eyes firmly on the MOB, whilst Matt eased the vang and Michael readied the life ring, the MOB was waving his arm and as we approached we assured him and asked him to keep calm.

Our first pass was too quick and we felt that the wind was too strong to throw the life ring as it would never have made it. Our second pass, much slower allowed the MOB to swim to the windward side of the J where it took all three of my crew to get him on board.

The rescued person, Dominic, was ash white, shaking and exhausted, we put him down in the cabin where Jack kept a eye on him. It was only then that I looked around to see that through the rain the only other boat I could see was the stricken yacht, no one else was in sight.  The stricken yacht had managed to bare away and was able to run downwind some distance away, we both headed to the nearest harbour at RYCV.

Dominic advised us that there was a injured crew on the other yacht and that the events that caused his injury had caused his fall from the boat.  I estimate that Dominic would have been in the water for a minimum of ten to fifteen minutes, we were concerned that he might be effected by shock so I got Jack to keep eye on his condition all the whole way home.

J/24′s are great to sail in heavy windy conditions, their low free board made getting Dominic on board much easier, and the speed in which we could do a second pass, took some of the panic out of the situation. Had we been in a much bigger boat, this MOB rescue would have been much harder and taken a lot longer, of that I am sure.

When we entered to harbour, the stricken yacht managed to get assistance from a rescue boat who rushed the injured crew to a waiting ambulance.  After we had docked we were met by the crew of the other yacht who thanked us and advised us that they could never have been able to pick up Dominic.

On reflection, my crew and I agreed that we had all had a rewarding and special day, as no one else knew Dominic was out there until we reported what had happened when we came ashore. We later learnt that the race was shortened due to the wind strength and reduced vision of 100 meters.

A very, very special "Thanks" to Jack Crawford, Matt Weston and Michael Lewenhagen, my crew on BRUSCHETTA VI."

Note from Simon Grain- "Hugo’s actions quite probably saved Dominic’s life on Saturday. The visibility was terrible with heavy driving rain, rising seas and lots of spray making looking to windward almost impossible and painful. This might have meant that no other boat would have seen him in the water. This is a very sobering thought, as losing a crew member overboard can happen in the blink of an eye to any of us on the water in these conditions. Make sure you practice your man overboard retrieval in all kinds of weather. Hugo was awarded redress and scored an equal first place in this race and came second overall in the Lipton Cup."  For more J/24 Australian fleet sailing news.

J/24s Sailing Sydney Short Ocean Series

(Sydney, Australia)- Starting in late spring Down Under, the Sydney Short Ocean Series gets rolling, a popular series of weekend races that takes place both inside Sydney Harbour as well as rounding marks offshore past the infamous Sydney Heads.

The event incorporates an Ocean Passage Race on Saturday with a common Start/Finish in Sydney Harbour.  And, then on Sunday, there's a combination of Windward/Leeward Courses and Triangle courses in the harbour.  A number of J/24s have been participating in the lead-up to the series, with three of them taking top five positions in what was known as the Seven Islands Race- Division 2.

It was clear the racing was close for the J/24s.  Leading the J/24 fleet home was Marc Tromp's WATERBORNE AGAIN, beating the next J/24 home by 12 seconds, a very tight finish for the top two.  INNAMINKA sailed by John Crawford was second and managed to stave off the charge by Brett Hudson's WILD FIRE, beating them by 30 seconds.  A bit off the pace about four minutes back was John Terry's PINOT.    For more Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship sailing information

Volvo Ocean Race Friends. More Win Some, Lose Some Stories.

  Spanish team TELEFONICA skipper by Iker Martinez wins the first leg and is loaded with Spanish J/80 sailing friends (including English/Aussie friend Andrew Cape).  Meanwhile, friend Ken Read is temporarily marooned on Tristan da Cunha for four days of "cow pie" golf, baby-sitting their mast-less 70 foot carbon coffin offshore each night and praying their delivery ship arrives soon!  Time is ticking and a-wasting away.  December 10th is the next start and the ship takes 5 days in transit from Tristan to Capetown, South Africa.  Ken's take on his arrival on Tristan is upbeat and amusing, a sure sign these guys are determined to keep up the spirits.  As Ken describes, "We have now been on Tristan da Cunha for 24 hours. And, it is exactly what we thought it would be.  A cloud seems to surround the island always. We still haven't seen the peak of the mountain, but the cliffs that make up the borders of the rock are breathtaking.

Yesterday at daybreak we arrived to a police escort (one large inflatable boat) to the anchorage area that they suggested we use. Of course, we are the only anchored boat in about a 1,500 mile radius.  After anchoring Puma’s Mar Mostro in about 20 meters of water, we all went in on the RIB to meet several of the town administrators eager to help.

Housing, food, coffee, showers – all the necessities that we were craving were provided. And, of course, that 9 am cold beer!  Police Inspector Conrad Glass explained the rules. We met the harbormaster – Jonathan Swain’s long-lost relative; Iris, the Minister of Tourism; Lorraine, the Treasurer and hairdresser; Sean Burns, the British government administrator, and of course Andy, the radio and communications director. And, so on and so on. I am leaving a lot of important people out for sure, but the fact is they are all fantastic.

The rest of the day was all about getting organized and relaxing.  Figuring out how we are going to deal with our yacht on anchor.  A night in the pub for the boys, and Jono and I took the first night shift on the boat. Pretty much setting up a routine that we will likely follow until the ship gets here to bring us back to the mainland.

Today will be golf day. Played in a cow pasture with flags but no greens. For sure the cow patties will bring a new meaning to 'lift, clean and place.' Ought to be interesting. We have trips planned to nearby Nightingale Island, a hike up the mountain, and of course more boat chores than we know what to do with. For sure we will keep busy.

In the meantime, we use the internet cafe to constantly check on communication from our families and look up the progress of the ship heading this way. The clock is ticking louder ever minute.  PUMA hopes to be back by December 6th in Cape Town and ready to go by Dec 10th for first inshore race!  Ouch!