Read Vying For Volvo Race Lead

(Lorient, France)- The Volvo Ocean Race is in its final week of sailing.  Hard to believe, but true.  At this time, just about any of the top four teams can win given the right combinations of racing.  But, the French team led by Franck Cammas on GROUPAMA will have an unassailable position so long as they average third in the next three races and could become the first French team in decades to win this epic around-the-world offshore race, this one being the longest-ever version with nearly 40,000 nm of sailing under their boats! 

Challenging GROUPAMA will be Newport's Ken Read racing PUMA Mar Mostro, hoping his collective experience of winning multiple J/24 World Championships will come into play in the last three "windsprints" left on the schedule.  Besides the two in-port "day races", the last offshore leg is just short of 500nm, a "day race" for these ocean-racing greyhounds!  It will be tough sailing, in fact more like a monster version of an intercollegiate dinghy race than an offshore keelboat race from a tactical point of view-- everyone will be in view the entire four days of racing!!  Good luck to Ken Read and crew on PUMA! 

And, not to be left out will be J/80 champion sailor from Spain, Iker Martinez and team on TELEFONICA.  TELEFONICA had led for 80% of the race until they broke their two primary rudders in a "chinese gybe" maneuver just before finishing the last leg into Lorient, France.  Limping into port on one rudder, the TELEFONICA team are hoping, like Ken's PUMA team, to win a few races and gun for the top of the podium, too!  Should be an intense, epic drama un-folding on the high seas off Europe!  For more Volvo Race sailing information

Hutchinson Sailing ACWS Newport

(Newport, RI)- America's Cup World Series Newport competition gets underway Thursday. This will be the fifth and final event of the five part series. Having won the match racing in both Naples and Venice, ARTEMIS leads this element of the series and is third in the overall standings. Following on from five full days of training, past J/24 World Champion skipper Terry Hutchinson (USA) and the crew onboard ARTEMIS are looking forward to four days of racing against the seven other teams competing in the event.

"We feel fast on the open course, but we need to start well. That is key. All the things that you can control, you have to control," said Terry. "Competition, Mother Nature and the current are going to be the biggest variables in performance here. The boats are so fast, that you are punished if you don’t do things properly.  It’s great to have the America’s Cup back in the US and briefly in Newport. It is the premier spot to come and be supported by the people. Newport is the Cup’s home away from home and so far it hasn’t disappointed. We’ve had a lot of people out here spectating. There’s a good vibe."  For more America's Cup World Series sailing information

J24s Sailing Fun at Coronado YC

J/24 teams and the local sailing school are having fun at Coronado YC!  Said one committed J/24 team, "I give a bit of my involvement in community outreach program for a local yacht club. And just yesterday some of Juniors I teach sailing to went aboard one of your nice J24’s taking a class from a national champion in this class, you might remember Jon Rogers. He mentioned to us that he worked for you in Newport, RI at a J World school and asked me to say hi for him. Jon is a great guy and outstanding sailing instructor. He gave the juniors the ins and out of this magnificent racing vessel.

Our club organized a get together with the Coronado Yacht Club where Jon teaches and he kindly offered a day class to 3 of my top students. Luckily I went as well and confirmed what lots of people say about boats “They are fast”. We all enjoyed the class and hopefully in the near future we could have the opportunity to have one of this fast racing vessels in our fleet too."

A PEARL For J/24 Canadians

(Vancouver, BC, Canada)- This year's J/24 Canadian Nationals were held in the incredibly picturesque city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Like her famous sister-city, Victoria, that hosts the annual Swiftsure Lightship Classic Offshore race every year, the Vancouver locals seem to have a habit of making sure that any sailor and their merry bandits of crew have a happy time, no matter the conditions or circumstances anyone encounters.

For the near dozen or so J/24 teams that participated in this year's J/24 Canadians, it would be fair to say that most every crew had a "happy face" no matter where they were in the fleet.  Beautiful sailing.  Fabulous hosts at West Vancouver Yacht Club.  Great racing with an RC determined to get in a lot of great races, nine total sailed for the series!  More often than not, tired sailors are happy sailors.  "Veni vidi vici", as they say!  We came to sail.  We came to party.  We came to have fun!  West Vancouver YC and their supporting cast delivered.

In the end, it was a "pearl" of a regatta for Mike Johnson and crew from Seattle YC sailing their great yacht PEARL to 5-4-3-1-2-2-7-3-1 to lay down the gauntlet for others to match, generating a mere 21 points in 9 races-- about a 2+ average?  Recent J/24 Seattle NOODS Regatta winner, Mark Laura on TUNDRA ROSE could not match their prodigious output, managing to amass a 2-3-2-4-1-1-3-9-8 record for 24 pts net.  Third was Bard Miller's HAIR OF THE DOG, managing to compile a 4-2-8-5-3-5-1-6-3 for 29 pts net-- an appropriately named boat, by the way!  To show you how deep the competition was, past J/24 Seattle NOOD champion Scott Milne started off incredibly strong and then faded from view, collecting a 1-1-4-10-5-7-2-8-2 for a 30 pts net to earn 4th place.  Fifth was Eric Sanderson and buddies on SUSPENCE, working hard against some formidable competitors to scratch out a 3-5-1-9-4-5-5-9 for 40 pts.

All in all, a very tight fleet that had a lot of fun amongst friends in a gorgeous setting.  The remarkably roller-coaster finish results were a testament to the competitiveness of the fleet-- only a dozen or so College All-American sailors sprinkled throughout the fleet.  Case in point?  Steve Fleckenstein on BABALOUIE, a former top Canadian Star and Laser sailor struggling against fellow bro's to grab a 7th in this crazy fleet, just 3 pts(!!!) from third place.   For more J/24 Canadian sailing photos  For more J/24 Canadian sailing information

America's Cup World Series Celebration

(Newport, RI)- Governor and Mrs Lincoln Chaffee and the ACWS Host Committee invite you to join them for a celebration of the ACWS Newport event on June 8th, 6:00 PM at Fort Adams- North Lawn.  It will be a fun, festive affair. Enjoy lots of hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and live entertainment. You can buy America's Cup sailing celebration tickets here.

The World Series races are being held in locations around the globe; Newport's race will be the final stop before next year's America's Cup in San Francisco. Newport last hosted an America's Cup event decades ago-- back in 1983.  The upcoming ACWS regatta at Fort Adams State Park features top international sailors competing in 45 foot all carbon catamarans with massive wing-masts.

As many of you probably know, many of the top America's Cup teams feature skippers, tacticians, team managers that have sailed J/22s and J/24s and won numerous World Championships over time.  Included in that group are John Kostecki (tactician on ORACLE), Terry Hutchinson (skipper on ARTEMIS) and Francesco di'Angeles (manager of PRADA).  Plus, looking out for both the AC and Golden Gate YC's interests is Vice Commodore Tom Ehman (top J/24 sailor for years in the hot, local J/24 fleet in Newport!).

The event is scheduled for June 23 to July 1 and will include four days of exciting racing right between Ft Adams and Jamestown's Fort Wetherill across the Bay-- it promises to be extremely tight, thrill-a-minute racing. Skippers will be playing "rope-a-dope" as they challenge each other for maximum gains on every turn at NASCAR closing speeds!  For more ACWS sailing information.

Italian LA SUPERBA Wins J/24 Europeans

Brazilian Maurizio Santa Cruz Wins "Open" Europeans
(Arzachena, Sardinia, Italy)- Can the newly minted Italian Champions in Sardinia also become the J/24 European Champions?  As "the Fates" will have it, yes.  Ignacio Bonanno on LA SUPERBA wins the J/24 Europeans while past J/24 World Champion Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA wins the European Open competition.

In the end, after a remarkable nine races spaced over four days the Brazilian team of Mauricio Santa Cruz managed to completely dominate the J/24 teams assembled for the European Championship.  After starting slowly (really slowly for them), Mauricio's crew sailed a 13-28-1-2-2-2-1-1-3 to win with a 25 pts total, 14 points in front of the second place finisher, LA SUPERBA. After winning the Italian J/24 Championships, Ignazio Bonanno on LA SUPERBA  sailed a very solid regatta, starting off strongly with a 3-2-2-8-3-10-4-7 to finish with a net 39 pts, winner of the "Europeans".  Third overall in the regatta was the American team from Seattle, Washington, Keith Whittemore and crew on FURIO.  They started with about as crappy a score-line as anyone could imagine- 19-ocs-21 but managed to overcome the romance of the Sardinia women and seductive coastline to score a 4-1-1-5-2-2 for the best tally in  the fleet for the last six races for a 55 pts total.  They just edged out the top German tea, Kai Mares on ROTOMAN that sailed a solid regatta to get a 9-1-3-3-9-12-13-6 for 56 pts.  Fifth was the American team of Mike Ingham on JULIA with a score of 2-ocs-13-16-4-3-7-9-4 for 58 pts.  For more J/24 European Championship sailing information

LA SUPERBA Wins Italian J/24 Nationals

(Arzachena, Sardinia, Italy)- The great island of Sardinia, famous for its fabulous sailing conditions, gorgeous azure blue Mediterranean waters, and incredibly delicious hospitality simply delivered in spades for the four dozen J/24 teams sailing the J/24 Italian Championship.  In the end, the reigning Italian Champions, Ignacio Bonanno on LA SUPERBA won the event for the second year in a row.  Meanwhile, the American team of Mike Ingham on JULIA/ 11TH HOUR RACING and recent J/24 World Champion Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA finished 1st and 2nd in the overall Open competition.  Just behind them was American Keith Whittemore from Seattle, WA sailing FURIO to 3rd.

It was tough sailing amongst the highly competitive teams participating in the four day event.  Half the fleet was comprised of Italian J/24 teams from all over the country vying for National honors, while the other half of the fleet were participating as part of an Open Regatta that was, in essence, a "pre-Europeans" for them-- great practice for the European Championship following the Italian Nationals.

After the first day of racing on Saturday, Alberto Gai's KIMBE led the Italian fleet and Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz sailing BRUSCHETTA was first amongst the Open fleet.  The fleet was treated to a nice northeast wind varying in intensity from 8 to 10 knots with gusts of 15 knots. For the most part, those who favored the left side of the course performed better than those trying to play the middle or right hand side of the windward legs.  "It was a good test for the crews" said Giorgio Battinelli, PRO of the RC.  Adding that, "races were very technical, difficult for the shifts, and it highlighted the qualities of the best sailing teams in the field."

On Sunday, the second day of sailing, the fleet had three good races.  The first race was the slowest of the day. With only 5 knots of northeasterly wind, the teams took over thirty minutes to get to the first windward mark. The air started to blow on the downwind leg at around 13 kts. The second and third races were conducted with a more constant wind, the same direction, but with an intensity of 7-8 knots. The fleet, in both cases, were clearly divided between those who had chosen the right side and left side of the race course. The two compact groups arrived at the windward mark in very tight formation, much to the delight of the many enthusiastic spectators who followed the race from the beaches of Arzachena.  The last race was the most beautiful of all, especially in the among the top four contestants, with the winners selecting the right side of the course.  After five races the standings saw the 2011 National Champion Ignazio Bonanno, representing Marina Militare Italiana, in first place with LA SUPERBA.

Monday's sailing, the third day of racing, saw the LA SUPERBA team continue to consolidate their position atop the leader board for the Italian J/24 Championship.  Two more races were sailed with Bonanno's team taking two more 1sts.  "We are quite pleased with the results obtained so far, given that we are racing against three of the world's strongest foreign boats. We had a little difficulty starting, the winds have been very shifty, but tomorrow, hopefully we have more good conditions. Foreigners are leading the overall standings, but we will not press on them, for now we try to defend the National title," said Francis Linares, a member of the LA SUPERBA team. Foreigners dominated the overall standings in both races. The first race of the day (race #6) started in a west wind around 14-15 knots. Always in the lead from the first beat was FURIO, skippered by Keith Whittemore, followed by the German team on ROTOMAN sailed by Kai Mares and the Brazilian Maurizio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA.  In the second race (#7 overall), Ingham's JULIA/ 11TH HOUR RACING took line honors, followed by the Greek team on EVNIKI sailed by Athanasios Pachoumas in 2nd and Santa Cruz's BRUSCHETTA notching up another 3rd place.

The last day of sailing was simply "classic Sardinian" sailing conditions.  Two quick races were sailed in 12-15 knot Easterlies on the bay, making for nearly perfect sailing with a slowly oscillating wind.  In the end, LA SUPERBA dominated the Italian competition, winning the Italian J/24 Nationals quite handily.  Second on the podium was ALVOTORE sailed by Francesco Cruciani.  Third amongst the Italian teams was BOTTA DRITTA skippered by Pasquale Mario di Fraia.  Fourth was BOOMERANG sailed by Filippo Masia and rounding out the top five was the early regatta leader, KIMBE sailed by Alberto Gai.  Amongst the Open Regatta winners were American Mike Ingham on JULIA/ 11th HOUR RACING in 1st, Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA in 2nd and American Keith Whittemore on FURIO in 3rd.  Fourth was German Kai Mares on ROTOMAN and 5th was Greek Athanasios Pachoumas on EVNIKI.  There were two well-sailed women's J/24 teams sailing in the event, including one Italian and one German team.  Winners of the Top Women's Team were the German VEGA RAGAZZA team skippered by Stephanie Koepcke, leading her Italian sisters on EXPRESSIV sailed by Claudia Speziale.  For more J/24 Italian Championship sailing information.  Or, YC Arzachena sailing information.