San Diego & Santa Barbara Epic Opening Days

J/105's Smoke the Fleets
(California, USA)- The tradition has been a long-standing one for yacht clubs around the world to have an "opening day", symbolic of the start of a new year, a new sailing season, re-affirmation of belonging to the "local tribe", participating in various "tribal rites of passage" with lots of pomp, circumstance, dressy stuff and good-natured bantering fueled for the most part by good food, drink and friends.

Nowhere is the tradition more laid-back than it is on the West Coast of America.  After all, watching sunsets on the beach is a right of passage, as is surfing to Hawaii on massively fast "sleds", and blasting down the Cal/Mex coastline to some destination called La Paz, Ensenada, Cabo or PV.  This year, two of those opening days were in for a treat, atypical conditions that challenged the best of the best in San Diego and Santa Barbara.

San Diego YC's opening day was an eye-opener.  "Fresh to frightening" or "epic" may have been adjectives assigned to massive chop, 18-30 knot winds and a bit thrill ride of for some.  Of course, the J/105 teams were simply licking their chops, knowing their erstwhile competitors might be doing the wrong kind of "pole dance" as they spun around in broaches all day long!  The SDYC opening day event is an incredibly fun "pursuit race", where slowest start first and fastest last.  In fact, J/22s started first and TP 52s were last!

After the fleet crashed and bashed, surfed and broached their way home, it was the J/105s that swept the fleet- WINGS (Dennis & Sharon Case) that finished first, followed by AIRBOSS and TRIPLE PLAY in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.  As was commented by one of their crew- " Surfing and planing on the downwind leg and having control in the beats were the keys to success and how much fun was THAT!"  Awesome stuff.

On the Santa Barbara YC opening day side of things, their classic "WNW" breeze blew in fresh and fast making for a spectacular afternoon of sailing.  With J/105s, J/29, J/92, J/100, J/145, J/22 and J/24s all making a go of it, it was the J/105s that had a spectacular showing.  Leading the fleet home were SHORT SKIRT followed by Ken Kieding's new ADVANCE (the old ROCK'N'ROLL) and ESCAPADE.

For more SDYC (http://www.sdyc.org) and SBYC (http://www.sbyc.org) sailing information.

J/24 Italian America's Cup Sailing

(Naples, Italy)- In keeping with the influence of Italy on the sailing world, it's somewhat coincidental that SAILING WORLD's recent "50th Celebration" article from past J/24 World Champion and College Sailor of the Year Terry Hutchinson- "Recover from a bad start"- was published recently.  As Terry said, "Patience is a virtue when it comes to recovering from a bad start."  In it, Terry Hutchinson explains how to get in the clear after a bad start: "You know you've had a bad start when you can't execute the game plan determined before the race. Two critical things must happen if you wish to recover: the helmsman has to sail the boat as fast as possible while in dirty air, and you need to decide where to go to get clean air."  Here's the article- http://www.sailingworld.com/experts/recover-from-a-bad-start

But, what to do after a "bad spill"?  Don't have that answer yet!  Take a look at this problem Terry recently encountered while racing an AC45 in the America's Cup World Series off Naples, Italy--

http://www.americascup.com/en/Latest/Gallery/2012/4/AC-World-Series---Race-Day-One---News/

What's the coincidence here??  Terry's up against LUNA ROSSA that has Francesco De'Angelis as a principal part of their racing/management program.  LUNA ROSSA recently won the fleet racing, appropriately enough, in Naples, Italy in the same waters that Francesco won his 1987 J/24 World Championship off the famous island of Capri!  Small world, eh?

Ingham Wins J/24 Easter Regatta

(Columbia, SC)- The tradition of great southern hospitality and great weather continued at the J/24 Easter Regatta in Columbia, South Carolina. Good Friday saw a northerly blowing between 8 and 15kts over Lake Murray dam. Sporting large puffs and shifts and sunny skies it was a perfect day of racing with 4 worlds length courses.

Winning race one was Travis Odenbach after a close battle with Tony Parker to the finish. Race two the wind picked up to strong whitecaps and Ron Medlin owned the left side to lead the pack. After a bit of a slow start it was last year’s winner, Peter Bream who won the last two races. The third was a battle between Mike Ingham and Bream all the way to the finish. Peter won race 4 going away.

After day one, Ingham and Parker were tied for the lead with Bream 7 points behind. Odenbach and Dave Van Cleef rounded out the top 5. As always, Columbia sailing club put on a great dinner Friday night and the party moved to Billy Rae’s barn setting up for some sore heads on Saturday.

Day 2 was a perfect sunny day –except there was no wind. There was a “fun race” with jib only, few rules and a really short course in front of the club where a really local thermal held up long enough to declare Patrick Wilson the winner. Several real races were attempted in the afternoon but with the lack of wind the committee mercifully called it off so the results remained unchanged from Friday.

Day 3 brought a nice south breeze at about 13kts which held long enough to complete three more races. But first we should recap the Easter-Eve events. It started of course with the beer truck and Ultimate 20 fleet’s rum punch machine. Dinner was the traditional southern spread of pulled pork, chicken and beans. Then great fun was had as local Roger Dougal hosted the annual “beer slide”. Then some dancing and the traditional after hours at Billy Rae’s barn went strong.

So after all the night’s festivities, it was great to wake up to the trees rustling with solid wind. The scores were close between the teams of Parker, Ingham, Odenbach and Bream. So of those four, it was set up such that whoever won the day would probably take the regatta win.

Odenbach got to the top mark first in the first race, with Ingham close behind. But in the end Ingham got past for the race win and Odenbach fell to third. Both Parker and Bream were a bit deeper. John Heaton had a great race finishing second. Race two was still from the south but it was a bit lighter at maybe 6kts.Parker took the lead on the second beat and held on for the win. Race three started in sub 5kts and was left shore favored. It was set up to be a 5 leg course but the breeze got very light as the fleet approached the first gate. This is where it got fun as the boats behind closed in on the leaders who hit the no wind zone first. As the fleet compressed from behind and drifted toward the gate, the RC mercifully shortened course. But that did not stop the carnage as just about the entire fleet compressed for photo finish between the leeward gate marks. In the end it was John Heaton who took the win, followed by local standouts Roger Dougal and Hootie Bushardt.

As always, Columbia Sailing Club put on a great show, thanks to this year’s chair Charles Bumgardner and his cast of many volunteers.  Sailing Photo Credits- Joe Reyes   For more J/24 Easter Regatta sailing information

Charleston Race Week Preview

(Charleston, SC)- With 260 teams entered to sail this year's Charleston Race Week with a nice mix of inside the Bay one-design fleets and offshore big boats, it's safe to say the event started years ago by Brad Van Liew and friends and now spearheaded by Randy Draftz and crew has firmly established itself in the midwinter sailing circuit.  Hosted by the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina that sports a great harbor, beautiful resort hotel, giant swimming pool and a soft, sand beach, the event has become the "Southern Hospitality" version of the famous Caribbean regattas (e.g. St Maarten, Rolex St Thomas, St Barths, Antigua).

As the regatta's reputation has grown over time, it has continued to attract an ever greater number of one-design classes from across the country and a large group of passionate offshore sailors as well.  The J clan of sailors have certainly embraced the event, with 78 boats attending, J/Boats is by far the biggest sailing brand in attendance, with 30% of the total boats sailing (and easily the largest number of sailors!).  This J contingent is spread amongst the 57 one-designs- J/22's (15 boats), J/24's (24 boats) and J/80's (18 boats) and 21 offshore boats spread across 4 PHRF Divisions.

The J/22 class have World Champion Greg Fisher and team sailing on USA 1586 who will likely be challenged by such teams like Todd Hiller from Annapolis YC sailing LEADING EDGE; Kurt Swanson from Pennsylvania sailing SLINGSHOT; Annapolis sailor Kathy Parks on SUNDOG; and J/22 NA's hosts Chris Princing and crew on TEAM TAWAS.

With two dozen teams showing up from across the country, it's clear the J/24s are always going to have a good'ole fashioned mud-slinging in the trenches.  Several good teams have a potential to make their presence felt, including Travis Odenbach's HONEY BADGER from Annapolis, MD; Chip Till's crew on MURDER INCORPORATED from Wrightsville Beach, NC; and World Champion Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY on USA 5448.  Nevertheless, there will be other teams that are sure to mix it up with these competitive crews to force some roller-coaster rides in the standings-- always happens, always will!

Several J/80 class leaders are in the mix including Chris & Liz Chadwick on CHURCH KEY from Annapolis, MD; Chris Bulger on GOOSE from Buzzards Bay, MA; Andy Burton on GROMIT from Newport, RI; Brian Keane on SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA; and Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO from Fort Worth, TX.  This is a tough crew as evidenced by the fact most sailed Key West Race Week in January and the recent Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.  No way to predict this outcome as it all depends on team "karma"-- some will be more dialed in than others by the time crucial races are settled on Sunday afternoon! In the end, the J/80 teams certainly have a lot of fun sailing in Charleston!

Offshore the racing will be close and competitive in the four PHRF divisions.  In the PHRF B Class, it's a class dominated by J's, with 7 of 11 boats and several of them veterans from having raced one another in Key West Race Week 2012 for the top of the podium.  The biggest J sailing will be the J/130 SUGAR MAGNOLIA sailed by David Hackney from James Island, SC.  The two J/122s have proven they're extremely difficult to beat on windward-leeward courses and the teams present will give no quarter to anyone.  Leading the J/122 charge is likely to be Robin Team's TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC, but John Thouron's team on DUNDER from Waterbury, VT will be working hard to match the Key West Race Week champion's speed and smarts.  A quartet of J/111s will be racing not just as a one-design J/111 sub-class, but also doing their best to upset the proverbial apple-cart of fellow PHRF classmates.  Key West Race Week has proven the J/111s are entirely capable of being competitive in both modes.  Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 and Henry Brauer's FLEETWING are both veterans of the Key West Race Week gun-battle.  Entering the fray will be Marty Roesch's VELOCITY and Bob Moran's RAGIN' from the Chesapeake Bay J/111 fleet.  No predictions made here, like the movie, it's simply a "shoot-out at the OK Corral" amongst this fleet of sailors.

PHRF C promises to have some great racing with J/Teams comprising 5 of the 8 boats in class.  The three J/120s include past Charleston Race Week Champion, John Keenan's ILLYRIA from Mt Pleasant, SC and giving them a run for the money will be other local J/120s- Bill Hanckel's EMOCEAN and Rick Moore's MOOSE DOWN.  Mixing it up in this fleet will be the J/109 HEATWAVE sailed by Gary Weisberg from Gloucester, MA and the local J/35 ARROW sailed by Willy Schwenzfeier.

While the J/105s don't have a class, many have competed quite successfully as offshore handicap racers.  Lurking in the shallows and ready to pounce on their innocent rivals in PHRF D will be two local J/105s that have enjoyed offshore success.  They are Ed Parker's THE CITY BOATYARD and Joe Highsmith's DEAD ON ARRIVAL.  With any kind of breeze, it's doubtful their fleet competitors of Alerions and Beneteaus can hold them back.

Perhaps the "sleeper" handicap fleet of the event has to be the PHRF F Class, with J's representing 7 of 10 boats.  But what a clash of titans it promises to be!  For starters, you have "Mr. GILL" (Dave Pritchard) from Atlanta, GA sailing his J/92 AMIGOS with a bunch of buddies from Lake Lanier Sailing Club-- they're always on the podium it seems in any event they sail--and they look good doing it, too!  Pressing them hard are some "classic J/29s", including past Key West Race Week Champion Steve Thurston on the MIGHTY PUFFIN from Bristol, RI.  Hanging tough with them will be other J/29s like John Amyot's BLITZ! from Lake Ontario, Jim Mackevich's FOR SAIL from Edison, NJ, and Ira Perry's SEEFEST from Buzzards Bay, MA. Not to be discounted will be a fast J/27, Robert Key's AUDACIOUS from Columbia, SC and the modified J/80 JAVELIN sailed by Tom Gore/ John Yorkilous  from the Chesapeake Bay.   For more Charleston Race Week sailing information

J Sailors Leading Volvo Ocean Race- Leg 5

(Itajai, Brazil)- The Volvo Ocean Race is a game of logistics, luck, seamanship and smarts.  Gotta have it all to win and, like in one-design racing, those who make the least mistakes wins.  Such a maxim is applying in a huge way to the 2011-2012 edition of the VOR.  So far, a bunch of guys who've sailed one-design J/80s in their hometowns in Spain, including skipper Iker Martinez, are winning sailing their blue-colored beauty called TELEFONICA.  Another contender happens to be another one-design champion, multi-J/24 World Champ Ken Read skippering the red & black "octo-pussy" called PUMA Mar Mastro.  Incredibly, these two teams sailed an epic, mind-blowing fifth leg from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil-- by far the toughest sailing leg in the whole event.  A down-to-the-wire finish with classic one-design boat-to-boat tactics (keep yourself between your competitors and the mark!) saw Ken's PUMA Mar Mostro picking up their first leg win of the race, by just ten minutes elapsed time over Iker's TELEFONICA!

"Unbelievable!", reported Kenny. "Nobody quit and the atmosphere on the boat was really cool and everybody was ready to tackle the task at hand. I'm very proud of this team. It's a great feeling." Kenny further went on to say, "I don't remember when I wrote my last blog. I don't really remember when I slept last. We started rationing food days ago and had our last meal this am. And I am really, really happy.

This has been an epic leg. Like nothing any of us in the sailing world has ever seen. It seems like every leg we come in and say, "This was the toughest leg ever." But, this time we mean it. This was the toughest leg ever.

Going around Cape Horn was amazing. Our duel with the incredibly unlucky Groupama. The remarkable fortune of Telefonica to get the weather window they did in order to eat up a 450 mile gap in the last 2,000 miles. And to be able to hold them off not once, but twice, drifting to the finish when they closed the gap to within 100 yards. Just unreal.

I am very proud of the boat building team (New England Boatworks), the shore team and all the engineers and designers that put this boat together. Your boat made it folks. It is in great shape and lord only knows we put her through the ringer. The sailing team salutes you all.

And to the sailing team who hung in there through thick and thin, amazing work. As safe as we can be. All in great spirits. And we get to do it all over again in two weeks.

This is a leg and a trip that I will remember forever. Probably my last foray into the Southern Ocean. An adventure within an adventure you might call it. Glad this one is behind us and the "friendly" confines of the Atlantic Ocean await."  We wish Kenny and the PUMA Mar Mastro boys "Fair winds and following seas" on the next leg.  And, as a fellow J sailor, we also wish the best to Iker and his TELEFONICA team.

Get Ready for J/Fest San Francisco!

(San Francisco, CA)- It's almost April and that means the annual gathering of the J/Clan in the Bay area is near.  Get ready for a weekend full of one design and handicap racing April 21-22 - for J/Boats only.

St. Francis Yacht Club will once again host the five race event, long popular with the J/24, J/105, and J/120 fleets.

Registration is now open and the Notice of Race can be downloaded at www.stfyc.com. Early registration ends on Wednesday, April 18.  Don't miss out on this annual opportunity to mix it up with your fellow J/Boaters and the cap toss melee!

ANOTHER TOY Wins J/24 Tasmanians

(Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)- Held on Sunday 18th March and sailed in what many in the fleet refer to as “J Weather” the 2012 Tasmanian titles where hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in that wonderful city called Hobart.  Five boats contested 4 out of the 5 scheduled races held in near perfect conditions on the River Derwent featuring bright sunshine and 5-10 knot winds.

Looking to defend their 2011 title, the crew of ANOTHER TOY where early favourites and proved to be well deserving of this status winning all 4 races to retain their title.  Owner Greg Rowlings and regatta helm Peter Pangas were pleased with their victory after campaigning the boat strongly all summer which also included winning the Royal Hobart Regatta Lipton Trophy, The Showdown Regatta and finishing equal first (second on count back) for the 2012 Crown Series Regatta.

Having sailed close to ANOTHER TOY all day, Peter Bingham’s STREET CAR finished in 2nd place, having finished 2nd in 3 of out 4 races. Craig Squires' DIVINE MADNESS was a constant performer and finished a well deserved 3rd place.

The newly renamed WHISTLER J (formally DRUMBEAT) was the surprise of the day picking up a second place in race 3 after a near perfect start that saw them lead the fleet approaching the top mark. Helm Jory Linscott, whose star studded crew had never sailed the J/24 before, looked very excited when crossing the line.

Newcomer to the class Martin Pieterse, sailing STORM PETREL with James Anderson at the helm rounded out the fleet and showed moments of speed and close racing, picking up two 4th spot finishes. A pleasing result for a boat and crew that only came together a week prior to the regatta.

The Tasmanian Association would like to thank the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania for hosting the regatta and their continued support for J/24 sailing in the state.  Thanks for the contribution from Jamie Lawrence and Greg Rowlings.    For more J/24 Tasmania (Australia) sailing information

J/24 Australia Nationals Sailing Video

(Adelaide, South Australia)- Joe Pearson from MAKE MY JAY was filming and taking photos while sailing valiantly in the J/24 2012 Nationals in Adelaide.

He published this compilation on YouTube and I took the liberty of putting it on our J/24 site for everyone to see--  http://www.youtube.com/embed/uiHaBanPGpA?rel=0