Italian J/24 Team Sailing Puerto Vallarta

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YCBG Sailing Team Launches Training for 2014 North Americans
(Bergamo, Italy)- The year 2014 promises to be an epic one for J/24 championship racing in Mexico.  Sailing in the spectacular waters of Bahia de Banderas off Puerto Vallarta, the Mexican J/24 class will be hosting the famous “La Copa Mexico” (a week-long extravaganza of over-the-top parties and some sailing and sun-tanning mixed in for good measure) as well as the North Americans- held March 15th to 22nd.  The YCBG (YC Bergamo) Italian team give us an update on their planning and progress to date, as described by YCBG President John Fields.

"Our crew will be formed by the helmsman Fabrizio Eusebio, Mr. Fasoli, Parimbelli Marzio, Puntel Daniela and me (John). If you want, you can follow us on our website.

In 2012, La Copa Mexico was hosted by the Mexican J/24 Class with support from the Mexican Navy.  Fifty-five teams from ten countries participated along with notable J/24 champions like Mauricio Santacruz from Brazil; Tim Healy, Mike Ingham and Chris Snow from the USA; Ken Porter, Javier Velasquez Robinson, Jorge Castillo Martinez, and Peter Wiegandt from Mexico; Vernon Robert from Chile; Jan-Marc Ulrich from Germany; Jan Isley from Monaco; and Victor Maldonado Anso from France.  Sailing in that same regatta was our YCBG Sailing Team (formed by the helmsman Marzio Parimbelli, Paul Luisetti, Fabrizio Eusebio, Fausto Gandolfi and myself- John Fields).  After very careful preparation, attention to detail and training we were determined to improve on our 35th place in the 2010 event.  In fact, we ended up sailing much better, taking a splendid 13th overall, first all amateur crew!

It was a great honor for the YCBG Sailing Team to have represented the Italian J/24 sailors and our fleet.  The event began with a surprise at the time of taking over our assigned boat- “Que Si”. But, since the boat assigned (by drawing from a hat) to Mauricio Santa Cruz was his former BRUSCHETTA (now called DIGGER), we were given the option to use QUE SI or DIGGER.  Naturally, we chose DIGGER since we knew it was a great boat!

The next day, after the skipper briefing, we had a practice race in 18-20 kts and we were very competitive, sailing in the top ten and not finishing the race since we were superstitious like many other sailors— bad luck to finish a practice race!

On Monday, after the official ceremony with the Governor of the State of Nayarit, we were off to the race and hoping to get as many as ten races in by Friday.  Some of the races were very demanding, with many recalls, black flags.  Some races had little wind and others had 20-25 kts of very gusty and shifty breezes.  It was very challenging with many combinations of waves, current and shifting winds, which led to many good and bad results.  We had a penalty in the second race (40 pts DFZ) but we didn’t lose heart and subsequently after five races were in the top fifteen!  Ultimately, we managed to finish 13th, thanks to much help from many friends like Chris Snow, Peter Saurer, Luis Vazquez Mota and Jorge Castillo Martinez.

For the 2014 Copa Mexico we hope the forecast is for excellent weather conditions (wind and warm weather) and great hospitality thanks to the Marina Riviera Nayarit located at Cruz de Huanacaxtle on the north side Bahia de Banderas.  As the regatta ‘chamber of commerce” message states- “Those who have had the opportunity to take part in the previous editions of Copa Mexico or the 2007 J/24 Worlds are well aware of the beauty of the place, excellent wind conditions and the excellent climate and the presence of the best J/24 sailors in the world. La Copa Mexico has become one of the most important sailing events in the world and we guarantee the 2014 edition will be a memorable one."  We hope so and will be working hard again to represent our Italian J/24 colleagues as best we can!”   For more Italian J/24 sailing information and news on YCBG Team development

J/24s “Back to the Future”

J/24 Midwinters @ Coral Reef YC For 2014!
(Coconut Grove, FL)- J/24s are going back to Miami?  Some may ask, “why did they ever leave?”  Yes, the famous Coral Reef Yacht Club is the host club for the 2014 J/24 Midwinter Championship. The adopted home of Tito Bacardi and other famous “stars” in the sailing world over time, like “Old Man Diaz”, the J/24s have a long and storied history of J/24 Midwinters on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.

What’s the recent NOAA Weather update for Biscayne Bay?  Just the normal stuff- SW winds 11-15 kts, bay waters a moderate chop. Skies clear with temperatures over 75 degrees.  Oh yea, it's no surprise that Wayne Cochrane's 1967 hit song "Going back to Miami" has been the winter-time anthem for many sailors around the world.

And, for the J/24 class it’s much more than just an anthem, coming to Miami has been a ritual for the J/24 Midwinters- it’s been held on Biscayne Bay a record thirteen (13) times, more than any other venue. Five times Midwinters champion Tim Healy will return again to try for another victory. Three of his wins have been on Biscayne Bay. Historical note for J/24 aficionados, who never won the Midwinters despite winning a record five J/24 Worlds??  The winner gets a free J/Calendar (answers-> first correct post on J/24 Facebook page).

Sorry, we digress.  Did you know Cochrane's song had a line- "Gotta lay out in the morning sun”? That should mean something to you Northern-types (e.g. anyone north of South Beach).  With balmy temperatures forecast for all of February on Biscayne Bay with the classic SE sea-breeze pumping in at 10-15 kts, it’s high-times (not Colorado’s or Uruguay’s version) to head south and enjoy a few “umbrella drinks” at Coral Reef CY’s fabulous pool-side cabana bar and throw some sailing in during the day for good measure!   For more J/24 Midwinter Championship sailing information

ALICE J/24 Women’s Team

Impressions From The Monaco J/24 Europeans
(Hamburg, Germany)- In early October, the ALICE crew went along with their boat on the 1,700 km long road to the J/24 European Championships in Monaco. Here is the report from the skipper of the six women crew, Katharina Witt from the Hamburger Segel Club:

“For the first time after 20 years, the Europeans were going to be held in the magical princely state along the Mediterranean.  Seventy teams from eleven countries were registered from all over the world.  There were crews from Australia, USA, Italy, UK, Brazil, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, France and, of course, Monaco. By far the largest group was the Germans with a total of twenty-two teams!

The 22-hour drive was exhausting, not the least including the nerve-wracking descent through the narrow streets in Monaco! But, the sight of the Principality and the summer weather made ​​us forget all this very quickly! After the measurement process was completed Saturday and Sunday, thank goodness it went quickly and smoothly for us, we were looking forward to “practice Monday”.

We sailed with about 60 teams Monday in the race area and became acquainted with the local conditions.  Monaco is a challenging place to sail with waves, currents and shifty winds. At the same time, the large bay has the stunning backdrop of Monaco spread across the mountain slopes behind the harbor. The turquoise water was almost unreal. In the evening, we were welcomed by the Yacht Club de Monaco (whose President is Prince Albert) for the reception dinner— the participants enjoyed a delicious culinary pasta party!  Unfortunately, Albert did not show!!  We were hoping to see him!

On Tuesday commenced the first day of the regatta. After several false starts, the first race finally started under black flag. Our start was successful, to some extent, we made some good tactical decisions and were able to finish the first race 45th.

The atmosphere was great and we sailed the next two races to become better acquainted with the sailing area. After we were given a time penalty in the second race, the third race was exciting again. We sailed some good courses and finished this race in 54th.

Wednesday started with a postponement, giving us a long breakfast break in the harbor. After we finally went out, the wind, however, was only good enough for one race. Initially the wind was still light after the start, we managed to round the windward mark in the top half of the fleet!  But, the last downwind leg hurt us, so we dropped quite a few boats to finish 55th. We were really looking forward to the next day, which should provide more wind to get in more races but also to give us a chance to sail in breeze (which is more comfortable for us girls!).

On Thursday, the race committee sent out the fleet right at 9am, hoping to get in three races. Races with over 60 boats were a challenge for us. In each race, we learned a bit more and our tactical decisions were always better. We tried the right side on which we suspected more wind and favorable current flow.  This tactical decision was a complete success for us! We sailed well, with some exciting crosses upwind and downwind and we went even better, taking 25th at the finish! This gave us great motivation amongst our girls, so we were hoping to capitalize on this momentum for the next race.

As the fleet was waiting for the fourth race, the wind suddenly died completely.  Then, a surreal, hazy, fog-like cloud formation formed above the water and some of the locals next to us said— “it’s the calm before the storm”!  They were right!  Just a few minutes later, we were all swept up in an enormous 35 kts gust that knocked us over on our ears with just mainsail flying!  A mistral just hit us!  We were all immediately called to the port and secure our boats in the harbor.  It was a breath-taking, but outstanding experience. After a successful day on the water, we were able to hold our own getting back to land. We were very thankful for this regatta because we had achieved our goal of top 50- we fought in the overall standings to 49th!

On the last day of the regatta there was nothing to be felt by the storm. The air was still and the race committee had us postponed in the harbor. Shortly before 1500 hrs the signal was again given to follow the Race Committee boat offshore for the start of a race. The YC Monaco PRO finally decided to capture the light wind and start an eighth race. We were happy to sail one last time against the backdrop of Monaco!

The race started and never got higher than 5 kts of breeze.  In fact, the wind and waves persistently tried to push the boats back to shore, what an ordeal!  Many Js rocked under main and genoa to windward mark and over again under spinnaker back to the starting gate.  It was a crazy race for us.  Unfortunately, we didn’t do so well in the last race, dropping in the overall results from the 49th to 55th.  This was disappointing, but it was a great learning experience to sail against such top teams.

In the evening we were looking forward to the gala dinner with Prize Giving Ceremony at the Yacht Club de Monaco. Freshly showered and with crew outfits on, we went back in the evening to the yacht club, enjoyed the delicious dinner, and applauded the winners. The British skipper, Chris McLaughlin, and his team on IL RICCIO had shown consistently good performance for the regatta and deserved to win.

A big “Thanks” goes to Lennart, who actively supported us, and our sponsors— who made it possible for us to compete in the 2013 sailing season and sail the European Championship 2013 in Monaco. For us, the European Championship was a great success.  We left Monaco with many lessons learned, much richer in our experiences and full of new perspectives on how to improve next season! Starting with nearly 70 J/24s was very exciting and a great challenge. We had huge fun sailing in such a large fleet!  For more German J/24 fleet sailing information

J/24 Dominates Hot Rum!

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J/70s & J/105s Lead Their Divisions
(San Diego, CA)- The Sinhoffer Hot Rum Regatta series always seems to be full of surprises for all who’ve sailed the event over the course of time.  Such a seemingly simple course, using the classic “pursuit-style” starting sequence with small(slowest) boats starting first and fastest last, is never quite what it seems as the boats head out to the starting line.  Other than weather that can be impacted by late summer highs bathing the fleet in warm sun and light winds or massively fast weather systems blown down from the Bering Straits whipping the eastern Pacific into a frenzy and throwing overcast clouds, 15-30 kts SW winds and 10-15 seas at the fleet, the big “gotcha” is often how the winds (or lack thereof) flow over the monstrous promontory known as Point Loma.  As a result, many a Hot Rum Series leader has seen their chances blown in the final few hundred yards sailing into the finish line off Shelter Island.

This year’s three weekend series saw just about every weather condition imaginable.  The first weekend was fraught with almost no wind with most big boats barely finishing and most littler boats having to take DNFs (sometimes entire divisions!).  The second go-around saw a gorgeous sunny day with 5-8 kts of breeze from the West.  Then, the final weekend was cool, partly cloudy with foggy drizzle and a strong breeze of 10-20 kts from the SW.

For the first time in years, the little boats predominated.  In fact, it was the “classic” J/24 CAROLINA sailed by Ben Nieting that not only took overall honors, winning the last race overall, but also winning Class 5!  Not far behind them overall was Dennis & Sharon Case’s J/105 WINGS, taking sixth overall and first in Class 3 and in ninth overall was Jim Madden’s J/125 STARK RAVING MAD IV.

On a class basis, the top dog in Class 1 for J/125s was Madden’s STARK RAVING MAD, taking 7th.  Just behind was Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE in 9th and third of their group was Tim Fuller’s RESOLUTE in 12th.

The next class was a really mixed bag of boats that ranged from 28 to 44 feet.  Class 2 had a raft of J/120s and J/124s.  Top J team was John Laun’s J/120 CAPER, taking 4th in class and top J/120.  Next was Mike Hatch’s J/120 J-ALMIGHTY in fifth place followed by Chuck Nichol’s CC RIDER.  Seth Hall’s gorgeous, navy blue J/124 MARISOL took 11th in class.

The J/105s generally seem to dominate Class 3 by sheer numbers as well as by some remarkable performances.  Not surprisingly, a perennial contender topped the fleet, Dennis & Sharon Case’s J/105 WINGS.  They were followed by “birthday boy” Steve Howell (sailing with wife Lucy) on the ever popular BLINK!, taking third in class.  Ed Sanford’s J/105 CREATIVE sailed nicely to take fourth.

With a fast-growing and strong presence already in Southern California, it was only a matter of time that J/70s started to pop-up on the radar screen and do some damage even in the handicap-racing world.  Sailing in what is arguably one of the toughest fleets, Jeff Brown’s J/70 took top honors followed by Dave Vieregg’s SOGGY DOLLAR in third overall in class.  Next up with a good series was Tomm Reilly’s J/100 JASWINDER.  Of note, the J/70 fleet was not going to be denied, winning every race in class with Eric Kownacki’s DFZ taking one and Karl Pomeroy’s ZERO TO 60 taking the other.

The heart-warming story for this Hot Rum Series had to be the family crew and friends aboard Ben Nieting’s biege-colored J/24 CAROLINA, winning both counter races with ease!  Just off the pace was David Cattle’s beautifully restored J/27 BLACKADDER notching a well—earned 5th overall.  They were followed by yet another J/24, Mark Clements’ BRIGADOON in sixth overall!  Of note was a nice series sailed by Robert Noe’s pretty J/30 MAD HATTER— a beautifully maintained white boat that took 11th!   Sailing photo credits- San Diego YC/ Bronny Daniels- Joysailing.com   For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

HARD ON PORT J/24 Western Champions!

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(Lough Ree, Ireland)- In the “it’s never too late to report department”, it’s heart-warming to see J/24 fleets like the those in western Ireland continue to have fun and have great sailing amongst a closely-knit group of sailors.  This year’s Western Championships for Ireland took place at the beautiful, quaint Lough Ree YC.  It was Flor O’Driscoll and crew on their rocketship called HARD ON PORT that took this year’s “Western’s”.

There were a dozen entries for the event, including two relative new comers to the fleet, SCORPIO JUNIOR and JUMPIN JIVE-  both from Lough Derg.  Two local boats JEB and DJANGO (formally JIBBERISH) along with six from Howth and two from Lough Erne made up the fleet.

The forecast was for challenging conditions over two days including 20 kts of wind from the WSW with occasional gusts of 25 knots!  Due to the impending World Championships to be held in Howth, skippers were understandably reluctant to put their boat in harms way. A meeting of all skippers was held on the Saturday morning to put racing to the vote. All agreed that it was worth the risk to go on the water!! (Editor's note- who can blame them, better than driving a desk at work!?).

The PRO for the event, John Banham, and their on the water team had their work cut out for them. The high winds made anchoring the Committee Boat a bit of a challenge considering that his team was all female.  Mark-laying was also difficult with both the windward mark and the pin end dragging. John managed to get three races in despite the blustery conditions.

The racing (all windward leeward with 2 legs) started in 11 to 16 knots. The testing conditions brought out the best in the fleet with the J/24 showing why it’s still so popular.  Any crew brave enough to fly a spinnaker were rewarded with blistering downwind speeds and an exhilarating ride which didn’t always end well.  Yes, indeed, there were some spectacular broaches with some waving their keels at those upwind of them!

Day two, Sunday, was cancelled following an early morning scouting mission up the lake by two helms – Andrew Mannion and Martin Darrer. They reported an increase in wind pressure combined with a change in wind direction to North West resulting in a larger swell on the lake. Therefore the three races on Saturday constituted the event.

The defending National Champion JP McCaldin had a poor start to the event on Saturday with an OCS in the first race. This was followed by a 6th and a 3rd giving a total of 13 points and 6th place overall.

The Under 25 team sailing from Kilcullen and helmed by local sailor Cillian Dickson, were out to prove a point and pushed hard through out the day. Their persistence paid off with bullet in the first race followed by a 2nd and a 5th giving a total of 8 which secured second place overall.

Experience won the day however with Flor et al on board HARD ON PORT scoring a 2nd, a 3rd and a 2nd giving a total of 7 points and the event.

The silver fleet trophy went to Brendan Gallagher on board JUVENESCENCE followed in 2nd place by GOSSIP, helmed by Peter Barron.

The food provided by Georgina and her team at LRYC on Saturday evening was well received. While they dined, the frayed nerves of the 60 competitors were soothed by the “Ree Duet” who played both classical and traditional melodies. Thanks must go to Andrew Mannion and his shore crew. Launching and hauling out went like clockwork.

The event was a success despite the cancellation of the second day. The facilities at Lough Ree lend them selves to events like this and the club looks forward to hosting the J/24 fleet again soon!  For more J/24 Western Championship sailing information

PACEMAKER Crowned J/24 New South Wales Champ!

(Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia)- Dave Suda’s faster than a heart-attack team on their new J/24 foiler PACEMAKER retained the NSW State Title for 2013 in a “lightning-plagued” series on Sydney Harbour over the weekend.  Saturday’s racing was severely curtailed by some of Sydney’s biggest lightning storms ever seen. Plus, lots of rain and lack of wind and constant direction changes  meant only two races were held towards the end of the day on Saturday in pretty nice but light conditions.  Sunday was a “glam day” with a 10–16 kts SE breeze and plenty of sunshine- four races were held by the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club RC team to give a thrilling climax to the weekend (here's one of PACEMAKER's more amazing surfs-up foiling action shots to get in front of the fleet here!).  Here’s Simon Grain’s report:

“Sunday’s racing was close and hard fought from the get go with Sean Kirkjian taking a first on the Saturday and now already fighting for the championship with Dave Suda. Both Kirkjian and Suda were on equal points after Saturday’s racing, however, both were behind Ron Thompson who had a 1st and a 3rd going into Sunday.

This year’s fleet was smaller at a round dozen boats but the depth of the field was strong, with NSW stalwarts John Crawford, Dave West, Chris Lee, and Arthur Crothers all on the water. From Victoria were Dave Suda, Ron Thompson and Simon Grain steering Arthur’s KAOTIC. Doug Watson from SA was also there in EL FIDELDO.  Also rounding out the fleet were STARPAC, NOKOMIS and Brett Hudson crewing for Jeanette Thompson on his own boat WILDFIRE.

A perfect breeze prevailed during Sunday as we raced across the harbor avoiding each other (most of the time), TP52s, ferries and everyone else on the harbor that day.  Banging corners didn’t seem to work as well this year as there were considerable wind bends and lifts in the middle of the course. Arthur Crothers turned 70 and was presented with a wicked chocolate cake, NOKOMIS swam a crew member in one race and KICKING BOTTOM prepared to call “starboard” on a seaplane— yes, those were just a few of the usual oddities in this regatta!!

As the day progressed it became clear that the regatta might just go back to Dave Suda from Victoria and he and Sean had a personal battle in the last race to decide the honours. In the end Dave retained the crown and Sean came second on a count back from an amazing performance from Ron in KB. Ron also taking out the Thommo Cup from Jeanette on WILDFIRE, although as a consolation she won the handicap section.

Once again the RPEYC venue excelled with sunny skies above the lawn at the waterfront of the club when it counted and lightning shows when it didn’t.  Friendly staff and capable race management meant we were happy both on and off the water. Commodore Sean once again amazingly ran the club (thanks to all the volunteers and staff), the class team (thanks to Paula and Tim), ran the crew ferry and still came second!  What a fantastic place, after years of grumbling, even Herschel loves the place and passed a thought of keeping a summer boat there. Talking about being there, getting there was an event in itself for some with huge storms on the Friday night, Joe Pearson taking nearly 6 hours to get there and making what must be an all time record for Luke Mathews taking 19 hrs to fly to Sydney from Melbourne (via Launceston).

Now is the time to think about a trip to Royal Prince Edwards, as the 2014 Nationals will also be held here in January 4 – 9th. If you want a great place to sail, a great place to relax in between racing, then RPEYC is your summer regatta of choice.”

The J/24 STIG also chimed in with their report:  “Once again the foreign invaders triumphed in the NSW J/24 State Titles held at RPEYC (Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club)!  The slick crew work on David Suda’s PACEMAKER came to the fore when the pressure was on in the final races. After drop calculated for the top 3 boats PACEMAKER, SAILPAC and KICKING BOTTOM were equal on 6 points after 4 races, with the ever competitive Chris Lee on VORTEX nipping at their sterns.

Tom Waterhouse had Suda as early race favourite with the betting wide open for the minors. The performance of the weekend came from evergreen veteran Ron Thompson, who once again prized the Thompson Cup from Janette’s grasp.

Nestled amongst the Blue Ribbon Mansions of Double Bay the RPEYC was the idyllic setting for the Ashes on water between the States. The lone representative from Festival State (SA)  and home of the mass murderers (of beer steins) on EL FIDELDO snuck under the radar and had some great results. Once the trough of bad weather brought up by the Victorians cleared we had some fantastic racing. The TP52 sailors next to our track looked on in envy of the tight, competitive and sometimes aggressive nature of J/24 racing made their regatta look like a “kontiki tour” with brolly’s in their drinks.

Once the spray had settled the committee from NSW’s had to accept they would once again be invoiced for trophy engraving by David Suda. A worthy champion with a great crew; however the admiration will soon disappear and sledging begin with the Nationals around the corner.

Thank you everyone who made the huge effort of bringing your boats to the regatta and we hope to see you all in January for the Nationals.  Unfortunately we will not be using Paula’s scales from home at the Nationals so make sure your crew weights are correct.”

If that weren’t enough great perspective, there’s amusing commentary from Ronnie Green about sailing J/24s in Sydney:

“Sydney Harbour on the weekend? Expect the unusual and you will still be surprised!  The J/24s had a great weekend of racing on Sydney Harbour which lived up to its reputation as a venue which tests your heart beat to the maximum.  Great location, spectacular sights and even more unusual things to plan and look out for on the water.

On Saturday we all sat at the magnificent Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club (RPEYC) drinking our Pimms, watching the stream of thunderstorms cross the harbour. Some played pool while others started watching that sledging game on TV.  We were calmly interrupted every 46 minutes by an announcement from Sean that a decision on sailing is imminent, don’t go away and just wait for the next 30 minutes.   The wind kept blowing from the north, no … south east, no … north east, no … east, changing every 5 minutes from 6 knots to nothing.  After about our 10th bottle of Pimms, suddenly there was a gap in the thunderstorms and guess what, we are all on the water sailing out to the start line.  Only the wind died again, sails dropped and engines came out again.  Decision to sail to be made at 3pm and at 2:55pm KB was seen circling the committee boat desperate to get back to watching that sledging game and the 11th bottle of Pimms.  No … the wind arrived from the North and low and behold we are off.

RPEYC has unique rounding marks being the colour red, which is fantastic as every other mark laid on the Harbour is yellow.  You can imagine the mess as there are a few races being sailed at the same time.  The top mark was laid 0.6 km upwind (important fact to remember).  The fleet took off and everyone went left eyes searching the harbour for something red.  Yes, I see two red marks near South Head amongst the 20 other yellow marks and KB tacked as they appear to be near the east side of the harbour.  ‘That’s the longest 0.6km I have seen,’ was yelled from the back of the boat, ‘there must be others.’  Yes, was the answer and there is another red mark but only one.  ‘Well find the other one was the answer.’   Suddenly, a fishing boat moved and the second red mark was found right in front of our position.  Don’t point!! Just keep quiet as ACE and us are the only ones who know. I call it brilliant tactics – my sister called it something else starting with something like ‘b.s.’

Next lap we were out in front, rounded the top mark, put up the kite brilliantly, and found ourselves right under a 50ft yawl with a mast head spinnaker.  Had to quickly gybe away and our competitor quietly went to windward.  Who was supposed to looking out for this was the yell again from the back of the boat.  Answer – YOU.  Kept quiet then.  We had to do some deft maneuvers to stay in front.

Sunday was a fun day as all the fleets came out including the TP52s who started next to us and sailed across our course.  Lovely.  I remember completing a tack to lay the top mark when the bow sprit of a TP52 just passed behind us travelling at 10 times our speed!  Just about had me a heart attack!

Race number four, the top marks were laid just south of Shark Island.  We were flying, chasing Sean and the breeze was a bit tricky near the rounding mark.  Suddenly there was a call to watch out for the plane, so I cast my eyes skywards thinking there was a low flying sea-plane about to land.  Silly me, no the plane was right in front of us about to take off!!  You have to learn to expect the unexpected on Sydney Harbour.  Fortunately it moved so no harm done except to the heart- again!

On one downwind leg there were four boats charging to the port rounding mark to go south on starboard so we went to the starboard mark to head up the middle on port.  Suddenly, there was a call for a ferry rounding Bradley’s head.  A quick look up checking our VMG against the speed of the Manly Ferry (about 20 knots) indicated if we don’t look and keep our eyes closed we should make it across.  What a fantastic feeling as we tacked to starboard to see us windward of the ferry and the rest of the fleet behind it.  I thought this was brilliant sailing but my sister said something like ‘b.s.’ again!  Her vocabulary is not very good. Or, perhaps she IS smarter than me (the debate will rage forever)!  The excitement only was short lived as that bloke Sean came from behind the ferry and crossed us and then I said ‘b.s.’ again.

The race committee decided we should go for a picnic on Shark Island, as they laid the top mark close enough to visit.  One time we tacked to lay the mark easily. Learnt lessons from the past, when suddenly the genoa backed as the wind changed 90 degrees on us.  We tacked only to see NOKOMIS coming at us on starboard.  A bit of yelling and screaming but thanks to a great effort from the crew we made it around without putting more green paint on the opposition boats.

Overall on behalf of the crew of KB, a “huge thank you” to the officials and management of RPEYC for a great regatta, brilliant venue and magnificent support crews taking us to and from our mooring, one even gave us a tourist lecture of the houses in the Bay.  I look forward to January when the Harbour will be clear and at its best.”  For more J/24 NSW Championship sailing information in Sydney Harbour

Diamanti Italian J/24 Season Champion

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(Lecco, Italy)-  This year, as always, the seventh and final stage of the Italian J/24 National Circuit concluded with the 39th Winter Championship Interlaghi Vela, sailing for the Credito Valtellina Trofeo.  It was a tough J/24 circuit to win since the level of competition was very high across Italy in all the major events that comprise the championship this year.

The Italian J/24 circuit kicked-off with the three classic events (Primo Cup in Montecarlo, Pasquavela in Porto Santo Stefano and the Trofeo Academia Navale off Livorno).  These events were followed by the Italian J/24 Nationals in Anzio, then the Italian Cup in Marina di Carrara, the regatta in Circolo Nautico Cervia sailed in Cervia and ending with the Interlaghi in Lecco.

Once again crowned Italian J/24 season champion was Pietro Diamante sailing JAMAICA from CN Marina Carrara. "2013 was a very busy season for JAMAICA, during which we participated in six of the seven regattas of the J/24 National Circuit J24,” said Diamante. "We are very pleased with this result and we want to thank our local sponsors for their contributions that have led to this success. During the six regattas, well all took turns sailing the boat; including my brother Giuseppe, Gianluca Caridi, Fabrizio Ginesi, Giuseppe Garofalo, Paolo Governato, Enrico Alfarano and Nicola Bocci.  Thanks to all of them for being such a great team to sail together with all season long!”  Perhaps most importantly, this win was made even sweeter as Diamanti was also the top boat as “owner/ skipper” for the season- quite an honor in this star-studded Italian J/24 fleet!

Taking second overall was DJKE owned by Marco Vincenti and skippered by Fabio Delicati.  A newcomer to the fleet managed to sneak inside one of Italy’s top J/24 teams (past Italian and European Champions, no less).  Taking that honor as the third boat on the podium was OTTOBE ROSSO owned by Nicola Giovannini and helmed by Lorenzo Carola.  Fourth was top Italian team on the famous LA SUPERBA, owned by Marina Militare and skippered by the well-regarded Ignazio Bonnano from Livorno.  Rounding out the top five was the second place finisher in the “owner/skipper” category, JOC sailed by Fabio Appollonio!  Great sailing, camaraderie and competition for these fun-loving Italian teams!   For more Italian J/24 Championship circuit sailing information

NEW J/Calendar 2014- Hot off the Press!

The Perfect Gift For People Who Love Sailing!
(Newport, RI)- For 2014 we've created another beautiful calendar for J sailors who love the joys of sailing a J in some of the most spectacular harbors and waters of the world.  Whether you are a cruising, racing or armchair sailor, these stunning sailboat photographs will transport you to wonderful sailing experiences in far away places.

The 2014 sailing calendar features photos (pictured here) of flying J/70s off Key West; a fleet of J/24s dueling upwind off Monte Carlo, Monaco; surrealistic scenes of J/80s off Santander, Spain and sailing off “the cathedral” in Palma Mallorca; a fleet of J/120s crossing Alcatraz Island on San Francisco Bay; J/111s sailing in front of the spectacular Chicago skyline; a J/42 cruising along an idyllic Maine coastline; and other gorgeous images of J/105s, J/22s and a J/125.  A great gift for loved ones, family, friends and crew (see gallery)!   Order your 2014 J/Calendar today, click here.

“S” Super In Copa TelCel

(Club de Vela la Peña, Mexico)- Taking place over the past weekend and celebrating “la revolucion” were a fleet of thirteen J/24s competing for “la Copa TelCel La Pena”.  The Club de Vela la Peña was an excellent host and conducted a marvelous regatta over the two day weekend event.  Both Saturday and Sunday saw remarkably steady winds of 8-12 kts, with gusts up to 14 kts.  As a result, the CVLP RC was able to run the full slate of five races, much to the delight of all the sailors!

The fleet was treated to a “superman-like” performance from Team “S”, led by their magnificent capitano, Kenneth Porter.  Taking four 1sts in five races meant they could count a DNC and still win the regatta!  A fantastic result for Porter and the boys, a sobering experience for the rest of the fleet!  Talk about providing a “sailing clinic” on how to win J/24 regattas!

For the rest of the competitors, it was anything but easy.  The balance of the top five basically saw four boats quite literally tied for second place!  Everything was determined for this group on the last leg of the fifth and final race.  Emerging from the fog of war was Manuel Benitez sailing ZORRO into second place by taking 3rd in the last race.  The others were not so lucky.  Third to fifth just two points back was determined on a three-way tie-breaker at 25 pts each.  Taking the “lucky break” was Jorge Murrieta’s TRES DOLORES team to snag the bronze for the regatta.  Not as lucky were Ralph Nelles on SUPER MACHOS taking fourth and Luis Morales on ORION completing the top five with his fifth place overall.  In the end, it was great racing, very tight for this group and lots of fun at the the CVLP’s bar afterwards as endless stories of “shoulda-woulda-coulda” were discussed (e.g. argued) amongst the crews!  “Next time” was the operative modus operandi for the next regatta.  In fact, the next race is November 30th- the Festival of Sail at Club de Velas Santa Maria.   For more J/24 Mexico sailing information

J/Teams HOT In SD Rum Series

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(San Diego, CA)- San Diego's favorite Fall racing series is in full swing! For three Saturday’s (November 9th, 23rd and December 7th), the San Diego Yacht Club plays host to the annual Hot Rum Series— a fun-loving “free-for-all” that generally sees the fleet starting inside of San Diego Harbor, takes them on a “tour” that heads out past the majestic Point Loma, around some buoy set offshore, then “back home to the barn” to again finish inside the channel just off Harbor Island.  It’s an annual ritual for many SoCal sailors and, for most, it’s pretty random how one finishes based on how the wind blows (or not!).  For those not “in-the-know”, it’s consistently one of the largest PHRF “pursuit-style” races run annually— with the little boats (like 21 footers) starting first and the big boats (e.g. over 70 foot ULDB sleds) starting last; whomever crosses first wins!  To say that it’s a blast and lots of fun doesn’t adequately describe the experience of having the likes of famous local boy Dennis Conner come flying by you on his custom 60 foot sloop, appropriately called STARS & STRIPES (like this ->>)!

Many J/Teams participate in this festival of sailing, more fun than being an actual race.  In PHRF Class 1, four J/125s are sailing and leading that pack after two weekends is Jim Madden’s STARK RAVING MAD.  He’s followed by Mark Surber’s DERIVATIVE, Viggo Torbenson’s TIMESHAVER and Tim Fuller’s RESOLUTE.

PHRF Class 2 has a flotilla of J/120s and a gorgeous J/124.  At this stage, top dog in the J/Fleet is Mike Hatch’s J/120 J/ALMIGHTY followed by Seth Hall’s J/124 MARISOL.  The J/120s CAPER (John Laun) and CC RIDER (Chuck Nichols) are just behind them.

The J/105s are usually so dominant in PHRF Class 3 that most years they occupy the entire top five.  However, at this stage the J/105s are taking up just 5 of the top 10 slots.  Top boat is Dennis Case’s WINGS, followed by Dag Fish’s VIGGEN, Steve & Lucy Howell’s BLINK! and Ed Sanford’s CREATIVE.

The seven J/70s in PHRF Class 4 are knocking it out of the park so far!  First in class is Karl Pomeroy’s ZERO TO SIXTY followed in second place by Jeff Brown’s “J70 Team”.  Dave Vieregg is sitting 3rd in J/70s and fifth in class on SOGGY DOLLAR.

Amazingly, the classic J/24 CAROLINA sailed by Ben Nieting is winning class and a fellow J/24 sailor is lying sixth in class, Mark Clements’s BRIGADOON.  Dave Cattle’s J/27 BLACKADDER is ready to pounce in the next race from his seventh place spot in the standings!   Sailing photo credits-  Bronny Daniels/ Joysailing.com   For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

J/Teams Lovin’ St Croix

DARK STAR, PALADIN, EL SHADDAI-- Stars in Caribbean Sailing
(Christiansted, St Croix, USVI)- For starters, what’s not to like about the basic premise of St Croix’s International Regatta hosted by the St Croix YC on their famous beach?  For one, the winning skipper’s weight in rum is first overall prize; secondly, there are three spectacular days of racing in classic Caribbean sailing conditions; and lastly, there are  live bands each night on the beach with awesome “island-style” hospitality!

The history of the event is somewhat amusing because of it’s unusual first prize! In 1992, Commodore Nick Castruccio organized the first St.Croix Yacht Club International Regatta, he convinced Mumm’s Champagne to sponsor the event, and encouraged his sailing friends from across the Caribbean to compete. The three day event was held in October, on the weekend of Columbus Day/ Puerto Rico Friendship Day, and 69 boats attended the first year. Peter Holmberg of Team Heineken, winner of the racing spinnaker class, received his weight in Mumm’s Champagne (and being a somewhat large citizen that he is, Mumm’s was not sure if this was such a great idea!). Nevertheless, a tradition was born!

After a series of hurricanes in the 1990s, resulting in the loss of the main Yacht Club dock three times, the event was moved to February, allowing StCYC to replace the dock after hurricane season. Better weather and better planning on the Yacht Club’s part have resulted in dock retention since. In 1999, Mumm’s (not too surprisingly) withdrew as the event sponsor and was replaced by local companies that sponsored the event through 2007. The winning skipper now received his weight in Cruzan Rum, thanks to the local St Croix distillery. And so it is.

The event is somewhat unique from a regatta format as well since there is a “pre-regatta” called the Commodore’s Race Trophy.  This enables the locals, in particular, to get their acts together, work out some of the rust accumulated from the summer and get the teams “gelling” like a well-oiled machine— at least, that’s the challenge!  The first event produced some great racing with J/Teams pretty much dominating the entire regatta.

In CSA Racing, taking 1st was Jonathan Lipuscek’s J/105 DARK STAR.  In fact, J/Teams took four of the top six places.  Following them in 3rd was Paul Davis’s J/27 MAGNIFICENT 7, in 5th was Angela Mayala’s J/80 SUN BUM II and in 6th was Robert Armstrong’s somewhat infamous J/100 BAD GIRL.

The CSA Non-Spinnaker also saw very spirited racing with the winner being Stanford Joines’s J/36 PALADIN looking magnificent.  Third was Dave Tomlinson’s J/24 EL SHADDAI.

Now that most teams had a bit of practice under their belts, it was high time to up the ante and put on the full-court press to determine the podium finishers for the “big one”, the St Croix International Regatta trophies and, of course, the skipper’s weight in rum for winning their respective divisions.

The CSA Racing saw a very closely fought competition, but getting the short-end of the stick on a tie-breaker and having to settle for second (and no rum) was Jonathan Lipuscek’s J/105 DARK STAR.  Ouch!  That must’ve been a bummer.  Also sailing a lot faster and smarter was and taking third on the podium was Robert Armstrong’s J/100 BAD GIRL.

Flip-flopping positions from the first regatta, the CSA Non-Spinnaker winner this time around (and quite happy to weigh-in on the rum award!) was Dave Tomlinson’s J/24 EL SHADDAI. Stanford Joines’s J/36 PALADIN sailed a solid regatta but simply could not hold back the rum-thirsty boys on EL SHADDAI!!  Amazing motivation that is!   Sailing photo credits- Rob Jones   For more St Croix International Regatta sailing information