2013 J/Fest Southwest Announcement

(Seabrook, Texas)- J/Fest Southwest gets better and better every year and provides a lot of bang for your entry dollar!  Once again the skippers packet is going to be chock full of coupons for Seabrook area businesses, and great products.  With great restaurants, and lots of activities for shore side guests there is something for everyone:  Kemah Boardwalk Amusement park, NASA-Discovery Center (worth an entire day), Shopping and Dining.  

Sailing from November 2nd to 3rd, the host Lakewood Yacht Club will have real-time race updates for those that want to hang out and see how their favorite sailors are fairing out on the water.  In addition there will be a spectator boat available to take those that want to get up close and personal with the racing action going on amongst 8 fleets!  

The newest J/Boat- the J/88 Hull #007 "It's a Thrill"- will be making her debut!  How will she do?  We'll find out soon!  Her skipper will be Rod Johnstone, J/Boats co-founder and Guest of Honor back for his fourth year!  And that means a 4th year of J/Boats trivia!  With all the fabulous prizes that come with the right answers!  Hint: "Mello Yellow" will NOT be an answer this year!  

After Saturday's racing the band will start and the music will be heard across the inner harbor as we put our boats away, swap stories, and share a beverage or two.  Back by popular demand comes the "Cajun Feast".  Enough food for three regatta's!  

Your skippers packet will include additional restaurant vouchers to be used at LYC for this incredible dining experience!  After dinner several TV's will be replaying the day's race tracks-this has been an awesome prop for the bench racing stories that tend to go long into the night! But really!  It's all about the racing!

All the usual One Designs will be there:  J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/105 and J/109!  With a record breaking early entry list topping 34 boats with two months to go this is shaping up to be a killer event!  The first year J/70 fleet will top 10 boats! Lots of fun and the J/70 Saturday post-race debrief by the leaders has been a real hit- everyone is welcome to attend!  

And for the real kicker- J/World Annapolis is bringing their talented instructors to Lakewood YC for a 2 day "J/Fest Southwest Racing Clinic" on October 31- November 1st to be run on J/70's and J/80's out of LYC!  It's the best deal in town, just $149/boat!

J/Fest Southwest always has great racing and great sponsors that provide us with a lot of valuable freebies!  Check out the regatta site at J/Fest Southwest and look at the list of sponsors to get an idea of the freebies, and listen to Seabrook Mayor Glenn Royals Welcome video!  Hook 'em up!  Head 'em out to J/Fest Southwest and Race, Dine, and Stay in Seabrook!  BTW ask for the J/Fest Southwest discount at any Seabrook hotel- check the website for a list of participating hotels!  For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information

Classic Cool Seattle NOOD

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J/24, J/80 & J/105s Sailed Dozen+ Races!
(Seattle, WA)- Yes, it was an amazing fact.  Long known for its famous late spring monsoon season with next to no wind, the Pacific Northwest version of the Sperry Topsider NOOD regattas can also produce some spectacular sailing conditions with the mighty, snow-capped Cascades Mountain range in the background.  While perhaps not postcard perfect sailing conditions, the sailors didn't care (see J/24 team at right)!  Wind was all that mattered, not the wet & wild variety, but just good breezes; the type of conditions that permitted the PRO's on the various course to seriously crank out some fast turn-arounds and dozens of starts. For the J/24s that meant an exhausting sixteen races and for the J/80s and J/105s a dozen races!

As anticipated, some of the top local J/24 teams managed to sail solid, consistent series to lead the pack of eighteen J/24s-- the largest fleet at the regatta.  Scott Milne's TREMENDOUS SLOUCH fired plenty of finishes into the top three to secure the top spot with 56 pts.  Mike Johnson's PEARL closed rapidly on the leaders after a slow start, counting 1-1-1-2-1 for his last five races to snag second overall with 62 pts.  Mark Laura's and Craig Suhrbier's BABA LOUIE were sailing the roller-coaster version of the top two leaders, winning some races, getting top three's, then bombing a race or two.  Net, net, BABA LOUIE's veterans hung tough and fought off challenges from others down the ladder to get the bronze on the podium with 81 pts. Fourth was Brad Miller's HAIR OF THE DOG and fifth was Jeff Bond's JOYRIDE.

The J/80s saw two veterans dueling for the top prize in their fleet, Bill McKinnon's SKYE ROCKET and Dave Schutte's TAJ MAHAL. However, even after closing the last six races with three 1sts and three 2nds, the TAJ gang couldn't muster enough momentum to overcome their early deficit.  Consequently, SKYE ROCKET took the win with 21 pts with TAJ in second with 23 pts.  Third went to Bryan Rhodes's CRAZY IVAN with 33 pts.

What appeared to be the only "schooling" taking place at this regatta was the fact that Jerry Diercks's DELIRIUM team sailed deliriously well-- smacking their J/105 classmates with all finishes in the top three for 19 pts in 12 races.  Starting off with three bullets must've been a bit mind-numbing for their fellow J/105 sailors.  Nevertheless, taking a beating early but closing with a vengeance in the last six races as Erik Kristen's JUBILEE, snapping off four 1sts and two 3rd in the end to score 29 pts total to take a solid second overall.  Third was Eric Hopper's FREE BOWL OF SOUP, fresh off their most excellent performance in the Oregon Offshore Race.  The balance of the top five included Jim Geros's LAST TANGO in fourth and Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE in fifth.   Sailing Photo credits- TimWilkes.com.  For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information

Annapolis NOOD J/Fest Preview!

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J/70 Debuts with Largest Fleet Ever!
(Annapolis, MD)- With 211 boats participating in this year's Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Regatta, it promises to be quite the "class reunion" for many J sailors across eastern America.  Why? For the simple fact that 156 boats are J/Teams (74% of the whole fleet) competing in eight J one-design classes (J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/30, J/105, J/35, J/109)!  In other words, for the few boats that comprise the six other classes (average of less than 10 boats per fleet) it may be a tad overwhelming to have nearly a thousand J Sailors criss-crossing the northern Chesapeake Bay and flooding the evening tent parties sponsored by Mt Gay Rum and other enthusiastic sponsors!

Leading the charge again are the J/70s-- setting a record fourth regatta debut as the largest one-design class. At forty-eight boats (Key West, St Pete NOOD and Charleston already in the books), the J/70 has completely eclipsed all attendance records for any sportboat worldwide in inaugural regattas since sprit-boats first exploded onto the sailing scene with the J/105 in 1991. The J/70 fleet is on a rapid learning curve and based on performances at past events, it's clear as mud who will be regatta leaders after the dust settles in the latest 70 battles.  Perhaps most importantly, it was self-evident, based on the huge "can't wipe the grin off my face" smiles after the epic first day at Charleston in 15-30 kts of breeze, all J/70 sailors were having a rip-roaring great time sailing their boats!

After four regattas, the betting will on a number of leading teams that will be seen somewhere at the top of the leader board for the 70s.  Included in that group may be Tim Healey's HELLY HANSEN, Joel Ronning's CATAPULT, Brian Elliott's B-SQUARED, Bob Hughes on MUSE/ HEARTBREAKER, Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE, Henry Brauer/ Will Welles' RASCAL, Jud Smith's RELATIVE OBSCURITY, Peter Vessella's RUNNING WILD, Bruno Pasquinelli's STAMPEDE, Henry Filter's WILD CHILD and a cast of local characters each of whom are capable of good performances, like Peter McChesney's TROUBLE, Tate Russack's DIESEL, and Cole Allsopp's MOXIE.

Next up are the J/22's with an excellent showing with twenty-eight boats (second largest J fleet).  They will be vying for class honors bragging rights, as well as getting great practice for their J/22 World Championships that will be taking place in Newport, RI later this summer.  For those familiar with teams that faired well in Charleston some weeks ago, it's clear that Chris Doyle and his "JUG 4 1" gang from Rochester, New York will be the ones to beat.  Giving them serious heartache will be a rogue's roost of J/22 veterans, including Allan "Albie" Terhune on DAZZLER, Kurt Swanson on SLINGSHOT, Vic Snyder on MO'MONEY, Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY, super hot sailor chick Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET, Mark Hillman on HAROLD GOES SKA and perhaps newcomer "gurl-stud" Jen Gaffney on PIRATE PRINCESS RACING TEAM. Amongst this crowd, anything goes, as it always has been!

With the third largest J fleet, the J/80's sailing with 23 boats are fielding a very competitive fleet.  Like their J/22 sisters, for some American teams, the event provides great practice for J/80 Worlds in Marseilles, France. Amongst those teams, look for Brian Keane's SAVASANA and the Danish family team- Thomas Klok and the Crumps (Will and Marie) on their boat R80 to be amongst the top teams.  Some other notable veterans in the mix will be Kristen Robinson's ANGRY CHAMELEON, Chris & Liz Chadwick's CHURCH KEY, Ken Mangano's MANGO and Ramzi Bannura's STACKED DECK.

The J/105's have a strong showing of an "all Naptown" fleet of eighteen boats and amongst them are some champion teams from past Chesapeake Bay and North American regattas.  Sure to figure in the running for overall honors will be a cross-section of the old guard and some new faces, including Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, Andrew Kennedy on BAT IV, Gerritt Schulze on MAX POWER, Jack Biddle on the infamous RUM PUPPY, Donald Santa on SANTA's REIGN-DEAR (for real!) and Scott Gitchell on TENACIOUS.

At fifteen strong, the J/24's are probably now on their fifth generation of owners and the competition simply does not diminish as the next-gen teams hop in, learn fast from the veterans, and simply continue to advance the ball in one of the world's most evenly-matched and competitive ISAF one-design keelboat classes.  Remarkably, one of the most competitive veterans (now working on his 4th decade!) happens to be a highly respected, most knowledgeable local J/24 sailor- Tony Parker sailing BANGOR PACKET!  He will be challenged by some "newbies" and some old guard teams, amongst them could be Mike Marshall from Conanicut YC, Jack van Dalen's ARNOLD GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, Pat Fitzgerald's RUSH HOUR, Mike Hobson's SPACEMAN SPIFF, and Frank McNamara's ZOT.

For the J/109's seven boat class, the event represents their J/109 Mid-Atlantic Championship!  J/109 Fleet 4 provides great hospitality under the leadership of Fleet Captain Bill Sweetser and his gang aboard the famous RUSH!  Assisting him is 109 class leader Bob Schwartz on NORDLYS from Manhasset YC and the Western Long Island Sound fleet of J/109s.  With many new faces showing up in the 109 class, it's perhaps one of the most difficult classes for general prognostication, other than the obvious- Bill and Bob!  Yet, any omniscient observer of this class will tell you there's always some new surprises in store for these veterans.  More news soon on the outcome!

At ten boats, it's pretty clear the J/30s have not only achieved "classic" status, but perhaps "legendary" status, too.  The first quintessential cruiser-racer J built in the early 1980s (some might argue it was the J/24-- not!).  Nevertheless, the Chesapeake crew of 30s are having some fun, that's for sure.  And, the NOOD is an annual reunion of like-minded 30 owners who LOVE their boats and it shows-- some look better than new!  TEN BOATS!  Amazing.  Well, let's see if the "gurl-boats" have it this year (as owners or co-owners)!  Included amongst the girl teams are Pam Morris' BUMP, Michel's LEAPFROG, Kathleen's MARY LOU and Sheila's INFECTIOUS SMILE!  So guys, that's a "four-way" that may crush you this weekend, girls's may rule sooner than anyone imagines!

Finally, the J/35s.  Like their "classic" sisterships (at minimum the J/24 and J/30), they were the second derivative of another boat that was incredibly successful (the J/36) in the early 1980s.  With seven boats, the J/35s continue to show their offshore performance worldwide is not just legendary, but fun, too!  One of the more famous boats participating is AUNT JEAN sailed by the Sagerholm/ Christofel team. But, BAD COMPANY, MAGGIE and MEDICINE MAN won't be far from the limelight. Plus, like her J/30 sisturz' the 35s could be facing an insurrection from Stephanie Reuer on DAKOTA GIRL!  Watch out, some sparklers may be flying in this rather diverse group of sailors.  Sailing photo credits- Onne Vanderwal and  Meredith Block/ Charleston Race Week.  For more Sperry Topsider Annapolis NOOD Sailing Regatta sailing information

J/Fest San Francisco Preview

(San Francisco, CA)- This year's J/Fest hosted by St Francis Yacht Club has another strong turnout of San Francisco Bay area J/Teams.  Leading the way is perhaps one of the strongest J/105 fleets in the country followed by the always competitive J/120 class on the Bay.  In addition, the J/70s are making their debut in this year's event and will be sailing alongside their stablemates, a fleet of a half-dozen J/24s.

For the J/105 teams, there's a likelihood that you may see past Rolex Big Boat Series Champions like Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK, Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE and Adam Spiegle on JAM SESSION amongst the leaders.

The J/120s have such an evenly matched fleet it's well-nigh impossible to forecast a fleet leader as nearly all of the boats have won some regatta or another over the course of time.  In any event, you should see amongst the leaders Barry Lewis's CHANCE, John Wimer's DESDEMONA, Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES and Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO.

Familiar faces should also be amongst the leaders in the J/24s, including Darren Cumming's DOWNTOWN UPROAR, Mike Whitfield's TMC RACING and  Rich Jepsen's RAIL TO RAIL.

As for the J/70s, it will be interesting to see how their first San Francisco Bay regatta ends up for the competitors.  Amongst them are Jim Cascino's EOS, Chris Andersen's OLD AND IN THE WAY and Mark Nelsen's SUGOI.  Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Daniel Forster.   For more J/Fest San Francisco sailing information