J/24 Sailors Bring Volvo Race to Newport!

(Newport, RI)- What do past J/24 World Champions do when they're not sailing?  Simple, bring the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015 to Newport.  That's exactly what Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport did this past week (his brother Kenny is now President of North Sails). Actually, it took months of hard labor and a bit of luck, e.g. "third time's a charm", so to speak.  On Tuesday, February 5th, Governor Lincoln Chafee (himself a J/100 owner and passionate J/Sailor) and Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad announced that Newport, Rhode Island will host its first Volvo Ocean Race after winning a stop on the route of the 12th edition of sailing's premier round-the-world challenge in 2014-15.

"We have made significant strategic land and marine infrastructure improvements at Fort Adams State Park, paving the way for a new era of racing in Rhode Island and setting the stage for the world-class events we continue to host," said Governor Lincoln Chafee. "We had a positive experience with the America's Cup World Series last summer, and I look forward to welcoming the Volvo Ocean Race to Rhode Island. These large-scale sailing events draw impressive numbers of visitors to our state - visitors who make valuable contributions to our economy."

The Race will reach Newport, one of the world's sailing capitals, in around May 2015 after a stop in Itajai, Brazil. Newport is the last stop before teams will sail across the Atlantic for the final legs around Europe. The Volvo Ocean Race has visited the U.S. in every edition since 1997-98, but despite Newport's great sailing heritage, it has never before had "Host Port" status.

"The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the premiere sailing events in the world. We look forward to welcoming the sailors, the sponsors and particularly the fans of this great race to our magnificent port," said Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport. "With the race working its way around the world, it will build to a crescendo as it arrives in Newport, R.I. We can't wait."  The Race will finish in Gothenburg, Sweden in summer 2015. 

J/24s Love Hot Rum Class 4

(San Diego, CA)- The last major San Diego YC racing event came to a close on the first day of December with the final of three races in the Hot Rum Series. The fleet of 130 boats in 6 classes enjoyed gorgeous sunny, warm "winter" sailing conditions on the 11.9 nm  pursuit race course located off the majestic Point Loma.

Race 1 was simple enough with nice sun and a great wind, and the usual inquisitions and opinions over ratings.  The conditions favored the smaller sport boats and the early finish line looked a little like a J/105 regatta. But you know what they say about the Hot Rum, one "nice day", one "light day".

And so, the fleet experienced "the light day" for Race 2.  Sunny, yes, but very light winds.  There was enough breeze (6+ knots) to whisk everyone out to the half-way mark in the Roads, but the wind evaporated from there. The larger boats, that have 50+ feet of mast and sail up in the air, managed to make enough breeze to ghost to the finish.  A last little puff of wind just before the 1600 deadline brought the front of the other five fleets to the finish, but in total, only 57 of the registered 130 boats finished.  Several boats received ratings adjustments that reduced their handicaps (estimated their speed faster) at the start of Race 2, and after a protest hearing, those boats were given redress (RDG) of a time credit for that race and their ratings were returned to those posted for Race 1. The redress did not change any of the results.

And the last part of the saying about the weather for the Hot Rum says "one stormy day".  But despite the low clouds and rain through the night, a really nice day popped out of the clouds around 10 am.  At noon, fluffy white clouds with 10+ knots of wind got the race going in perfect Hot Rum conditions.

Class 5 had several of the J/Classics sailing.  Getting third overall was Mark Clements' J/24 BRIGADOON with a 4-3-6 record for 13 pts.  Finishing behind them was the J/22 GOOD ONE! sailed by Shala Lawrence and the J/24 IRIE sailed by Jeremy Miller.

Many thanks to Mount Gay Rum and San Diego Yacht Club and the Race Committee for their support of this hallmark event.  Mark you calendars now for next year's Hot Rum (Nov. 9, 23, Dec. 7)!  Sailing photo credits- Bob Betancourt and Bronny Daniels/ JOY Sailing.   For more San Diego YC Hot Rum sailing information

Foggy, Sunny Epic Buzzards Bay Week

J's Sweep PHRF1, Odenbach Dominates 24s, Van Voorhis Wins 80s
(Marion, MA)- The 40th annual Buzzards Bay Regatta got off a number of races both Saturday and Sunday, including the Dick Fontaine Memorial Distance Race Friday, which ran to more than 22 miles in four classes. Racing took place outside Sippican Harbor in Marion, Massachusetts in one of the largest mixed-boat regattas in the U.S.

With hazy, hot, and humid days ashore, the offshore the breeze filled in nicely for the racers, after a nearly two-hour delay Friday. It was a long 21nm tour of Buzzards Bay, going upwind for 9.5nm towards the opening, followed by a criss-cross spinnaker reaching course, gybing back and forth to the finish line off the mouth of Sippican Harbor.  On Saturday, 8 to 10 knot southwest winds came in with a little more punch after lunch, making for a day of great racing despite the pesky fog.  Then, Sunday started off the same but the forecast winds of 15-25 knots with sunny, partly-cloudy skies finally rolled in for a fantastic, near epic final race of the day with speeds on the J/111s hitting near 15 kts on a windward-leeward course!

Friday's long distance race in memory of Dick Fontaine, the first representative of the Low Tide Yacht Club in 1972 when the BBR began, saw nearly 50 boats compete in four classes on courses up to 22 miles which took them through heavy fog past West Island and towards the Elizabeth Islands, then back towards Cleveland Ledge Light.  In the PHRF Racing 1 class Friday, Henry Brauer of the Eastern YC raced the J/111 FLEET WING to first place in a dominating performance over classmates, the J/111 WICKED 2.0, skippered by Doug Curtiss of the New Bedford YC in second place and Jim Masiero sailing his J/120 URSUS MARITIMUS to third.  It was literally a clean sweep by J/Teams of PHRF 1.  It also proved to be a prophetic outcome for the weekend regatta in PHRF 1.  In PHRF Racing 2 Friday, third place went to Ted Herlihy of the NBYC aboard his J/109 GUT FEELING.

The weekend regatta saw the addition of the J/24 and J/80 one-design fleets.  In the end, there was a fabulous, dominating performance in the J/24 class by Travis Odenbach of the Rochester, N.Y., Yacht Club 11 straight firsts, making for a total of 10 pts!  Local J/80 sailor Mike Sudofsky of Beverly YC finished in second place with nearly straight 2nds for a total of 20 pts.  Third was Edward Walker of the Mosquito Yacht Club with 43 pts.

In the J-80 class, Brian Keane of the Beverly YC led by a landslide for most of the regatta after 8 races (counting seven 1sts), but did not sail the last three races on Sunday.  As a result, Charlie Van Voorhis of the Fishers Island (N.Y.) Yacht Club won with 23 pts, second was Beverly YC member Nikolas Kotsatos with 25 pts, followed by fellow BYC member Brian Keane in 3rd with 29 pts.

Finally, in the PHRF 1 Class, Henry Brauer's J/111 FLEETWING team won four of fives races and added a second but took two SCP penalties to finish second overall instead by just one point.  Winning was Doug Curtiss's J/111 WICKED 2.0 team with 6 pts.  Third was Jim Masiero's J/120 URSUS MARITIMUS with 11 pts, completing the J/Team sweep of PHRF 1 again! In PHRF 2, the J/109 GUT FEELING sailed by local veteran and 109 champion Ted Herlihy finished 5th overall, dropping two places in a tie-breaker after placing 3rd on Saturday's racing.   For more Buzzards Bay Regatta sailing information

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.

JAM SESSION Wins J/105s at Three Bridge Fiasco

 
BADFISH Wins J/24s, J/80 PAINKILLER 10th Overall!
(San Francisco, CA)- The name is appropriate.  For starters, you have to know who the "Singlehanded Sailing Society" is on San Francisco Bay.  Next, you have two choices on the type of course you want to sail, go clock-wise around the Bay or counter-clockwise.  Your choice.  Then, since it's a "pursuit" style race, the little boats get going early in the morning while the bigger boats get rolling later in the day.  Next, you can sail single-handed or double-handed, no more-- for many that decision in and of itself is one of the more challenging ones to make based on weather and other unknown factors that cross the psyche of short-handed sailors.  Finally, toss in that other thing called "the wind" and, most importantly, the "capricious currents" on San Francisco Bay and you have-- voila-- a recipe for a "fiasco".  Despite its name, the event continues to mushroom in popularity just because it is almost complete and utter chaos.  Half or more of the fun is just participating.  And, you literally see an entire cross-section of the history of yachting as you sail around the course-- from Knarrs and Cal 20s to the most modern sportsboats.  It's also one of the most utterly entertaining regattas held anywhere as some of the most bizarre scenarios unfold in some of the most beautiful, and sometimes dangerous, sections of the course (e.g. the marks).

For the most part, dozens of J sailors participate spread across all the divisions (there are many to choose from).  The J/105s and J/24s generally have a class since so many come from all four corners of San Francisco Bay to partake in the fun.

More often than not, conditions for the annual Three Bridge Fiasco are cold, wet and nasty — the sort of weather that would inspire fair-weather sailors to turn up the thermostat, slip on their Uggs and linger over a long, drawn-out breakfast. But on Saturday this much-anticipated annual contest saw splendid conditions: clear, sunny skies, mild temperatures, and even a bit of breeze.

Not that it really mattered, though. For decades hundreds of diehard single- and doublehanders have turned out to compete, regardless of freezing temperatures, driving rain, lack of wind, or whatever. You could argue that the race, which allows entrants to navigate the course in either direction, passing near the Golden Gate, the San Rafael Bridge, and the Bay Bridge in whatever order they wish, is as much a rite of passage as it is pure competition. And with 334 entries this year, it's appeal is obvious.

With an ebb running in the morning, the most popular course strategy was to knock off Blackaller Buoy first (near the Golden Gate), then beat up to Red Rock (near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge), then run down past Treasure Island and on to the finish. But Three Bridge fleets are renowned for their contrarian thinking, so even with the ebb, many boats were seen crossing the starting line heading 'upstream' (east). Up at Red Rock, the armada split in two, half leaving the island to port, half leaving it to starboard. And back behind Yerba Buena Island the light air traffic jam lived up to the event's name.  For those headed to the Gate, a half hour after the start of the smaller boats, the breeze clocked a bit, allowing a rare spinnaker reach to the Gate.  Even later in the day, although there were holes in the North Bay wind, most boats had a pleasant, sunny ride down to Treasure Island, occasionally interrupted by upwind traffic.

For the fourteen boat J/105 class, it was Adam Spiegel and Matt Clark on JAM SESSION that took all the marbles, winning by just 1:57 over Peter Wagner and Al Sargent sailing SLEIGHRIDE.  After their start at 10:00 am, the J/105 floated along with the ebb in a westerly direction towards Blackaller Buoy in lightish winds before turning back east to fight the ebb and the dozens of other boats already in front of them.  After the fiasco of clearing their air, the J/105s saw Stephen Kleha and Shannon Ryan on DONKEY JACK finish third in class another five minutes back.  Fourth was Doug Bailey and Caspian Bailey on AKULA and rounding out the top five as Phi Laby and Garth on GODOT.  Out of the 334 boats, JAM SESSION got a credible 38th overall.

In the J/24 class, Scott Lynch and Tommy Pastalka on BADFISH won their race by 2:17 over Val Lulevich and Zane Starke racing SHUT UP AND DRIVE ( who was driving?).  Third was Darren Cumming and Alex Symes on DOWNTOWN UPROAR just 45 seconds back.

IN the SF Bay 30 class, the team of Peter Jermyn and Curt Brown on their J/30 IONE fought hard to get a second in class, followed by the J/29 AUDACIOUS sailed by Scott Christensen and Kevin McCurdy.

In the PHRF 108 Spinnaker class, the J/130 RAM sailed by Bob Milligan and Tom Thayer managed to get a sixth in class and 39th overall in the fleet of 334 boats.  Just behind them on 2:10 off was the famous PEGASUS- MOTION-X team of Phillipe Kahn and Mark Christensen on their J/100 modified with a bowsprit.  Not far behind them was the J/120 TWIST sailed by Timo Bruck and Ryan West.

Perhaps the hero of the day was the J/80 PAINKILLER sailed by Eric Patterson singlehanded in the PHRF 111-150 Division.  Eric started at 9:00am and finished by 15:39:51 in the afternoon, not only getting a podium finish by getting 3rd in class, but also getting 10th Overall out of all 334 boats!!  Wow, amazing performance in such challenging conditions!   For more Three Bridge Fiasco sailing information

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

Dr Laura Sailing J/100 Spooks Goblin Regatta

(Santa Barbara, CA)- The Santa Barbara Sailing Club Goblin Regatta hosted 55 boats over the Halloween weekend for their annual fun race for family and friends in the region.  The weather was unbelievable- "shorts and shades" all weekend with classic Santa Barbara weather on stage- 70s daytime and sunny.  On Saturday the wind started light and built nicely towards the end of the day, Sunday started with a nice breeze and built into the teens by the last race.  Both PHRF and the J/24 fleets sailed seven good races.

Generally, the fleet starts off the harbor and heads west to a mark more or less off the point and outside of the monster kelp beds.  Meanwhile, the temptation to play the lifting shifts on starboard tack that are coming off the shore is often risky business, while offering tactical advantage it also takes you into monster kelp beds.  Kelp sticks and kelp cutters are necessary equipment sailing in this part of the world-- ever catch a 30 foot piece of kelp that weights a good 100 lbs or more?  You start sailing sideways faster than you can go forward!

Amongst the Halloween revelers this years was the famous "psych" talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, sailing her J/100 called PERFECT.  She named her boat that for a reason, she loves it and of all the sailboats she's ever owned, she considers it "the PERFECT boat"!  Imagine that.  Plus, she likes having a good time with it.  In this year's event, Dr Laura and her fully costumed J/100 crew (putting new meaning to the term "deck ape"- see photo above) ran away with the premiere class in the regatta, winning PHRF with five 1sts a 2nd and 3rd. Just behind them finishing 2nd was another local champion sailor, Larry Leveille racing his J/29 RUSH STREET (blue-striped boat seen just above).  Lying third was the J/22 MISS BEHAVIN.

In the J/24 class, Thomas Tunberg sailing BULLET from Santa Barbara Sailing Club won by winning the last race over Grant's ELECTRIC PUMPKIN from Santa Barbara YC. It was a cliff-hanger of a race for the top three in the last race, whomever beat who would determine the final placings on the podium.  In the end, BULLET's record of 1-1-2-3-1-4-1 for 13 pts triumphed over ELECTRIC PUMPKIN's 2-2-3-1-2-2-2 for 14 pts. Finishing third was Susan Taylor from California YC sailing TAKE FIVE, taking in some bullets for herself, scoring 4-3-1-2-3-1-3 for a total of 17 pts.   For more Santa Barbara Sailing Club sailing photos and   Goblin Regatta sailing results.

J/92 & J/109 Dominate Corinthians Race

(San Francisco, CA)- In the second of their series, the Singlehanded Society of San Francisco (SSS) held their 18-mile Corinthian Race (named for the Corinthian Yacht Club who hosts the start) on Saturday, April 2nd.

All boats could either sail single or double-handed, the entry list for the Corinthian Race included 18 J/Boats, which as we all know are perfect for this kind of racing!  Dispersed amongst the fleet were the following J's- J/80, J/92 (2), J/100, J/105 (5), J/109 (2), J/120, J/35, J/32 (2), J/30, J/29 and J/24.  While only two J's sailed singlehanded, all the rest sailed doublehanded.

As Bob Johnson, owner/ skipper of the J/92 RAGTIME, reports, "After a long series of Pacific storms, some local damage from the tsunami and general cabin fever, it was apparent skippers are anxious to get back out there and race around the central Bay."  And, indeed they had a good time.  Bob managed to sail a reasonably fast race and won the Singlehanded PHRR Class 3.  Just behind him was the J/105 LARRIKIN sailed by Stuart Taylor from St Francis YC.

Doublehanded PHRF Class 11 was a near sweep for the j's in the largest class of the race, 21 boats competing and J's getting 8 of the top 10!  First was the J/109 SYMMETRY sailed by Howard Turner from Santa Cruz YC.  Third was another J/92, Tracy Rogers' RELENTLESS from CPYC. Fourth was the J/105 LIGHTWAVE sailed by Richard Craig. Sixth was the J/105 RACER-X sailed by Rich Pipkin. Eighth was the J/105 AKULA skippered by Doug Bailey. Ninth was the J/120 TWIST sailed by Timo Bruck.  And, tenth was another J/109, Jim Vickers' JOYRIDE.

In Doublehanded PHRF Class 12, the J/80 PAINKILLER skippered by Eric Patterson was second, followed by the J/32 PARADIGM skippers by Luther Izmirian.  Lying eighth was another J/32 sistership, Ed Ruszel's FLICKER.

Not to be left out of the silverware was the lone J/24 DOWNTOWN UPROAR, raced by Darren Cumming in Doublehanded PHRF Class 13.  Finally, in Doublehanded PHRF Class 16, the J/30 IONE sailed by Peter Jermyn finished a respectable fourth and the J/29 AUDACIOUS captained by Scott Christensen finished 5th.   More sailing information is available at Singlehanded Society of San Francisco site.   

WICKED Wins Block Island Race Week

(Block Island, RI)- This year's Block Island Race Week was up to its usual, fun, laid-back atmosphere that's associated with a "Bermuda Race" year....while the offshore nuts go offshore, the "day sailors" have fun, hang up their sea boots and oilies, take their showers, and enjoy evening festivities with family and friends at The Oar or Yellow Kittens.  The regatta has a mix of one-design classes (the J/105s and J/109s) and a combination of PHRF and IRC fleets.

The J/109s sure had a competitive, but fun time during the week with finishes for 1-2 and 3-4 all coming down to the wire on the last day.  After the fog cleared and the wind blew in, it was Don Fillippelli's CAMINOS taking first prize with 16 points followed by Steve Kenny and Greg Ames' GOSSIP in second with 18 points, despite GOSSIP's tow firsts in the last two races.  Class champ Bill Sweetser and crew on RUSH had their hands full battling with Ted Herlihy's GUT FEELING just to finish third with 21 points over Ted's team with 24 points.  Talk about a loaded deck, these four J/109s could just as easily win a J/109 Nationals as it was to do bruising battle in a fun-filled Block Island Race Week.

The J/105s were "eclipsed" again by Damian Emery's team sailing the well-traveled ECLIPSE, winning with a dominant five firsts in 9 races for a total of 13 points.  Carl Olsson sailed MORNING GLORY well to win out in a three-way battle for 2-3-4 spots on the podium, getting second with 20 points.  At the short end of the stick on that battle were Andy Kennedy's BAT IV in third with 22 points and Nelson Weiderman's KIMA in fourth with 24 points.

In the IRC division, George Marks' beautiful J/122 GEORGETOWN finished second overall, beating all other Swan/ NYYC 42s quite convincingly.

In PHRF 1, Doug Curtiss's J/124 WICKED sailed to first overall in what turned out to be a hotly contested fleet, winning by just one point.  Guests of honor, designers Rodney and son Alan Johnstone, were aboard to witness first-hand the determination of some of their competitors to beat them.  After the smoke cleared, WICKED (and it's incredibly HOT paint job) escaped unscathed to take home the silver.

In PHRF 2, that merry bunch of bandits known as "the HUSTLER's" from New York, again won on their J/29 skippered by class character John "Espo" Esposito and brother Tony.  Good grief, have these guys ever not won a BlRW event?  Last time we asked, seems that Espo and Tony can't figure out where they put all their Rolex watches!? 

The non-spinnaker PHRF class saw two J/34s sailing with Weber's RASCAL getting second and Dan Montero's BODACIOUS cruising into fourth.  Good on ya mates!  The "blender division" as it's known sure know how to enjoy themselves!  For more Block Island Race Week sailing information.
  

FIGAWI RACE Fun For All

(Hyannis to Nantucket- May 29)- Over thirty J's raced the 39th Annual Figawi Race from Hyannis to Nantucket on May 29th, which saw fifteen to twenty-knot southwest winds and a steep Nantucket Sound chop of 3-5 feet.  The race is a "pursuit style" event where the slowest boats rated under PHRF handicap start first at a specific starting time, then in succession, all faster boats start with the biggest boats, like the J/160 starting last.  For the J's this meant the J/24s started first followed by an assortment of racing/ cruising J's spread throughout six divisions, including one entire "sprit division" that was 76% J's!

In Division S- Sprit Boats, the J/105 VIXEN skippered by Chris Beane placed first by just 1:40 over Wagner Reservitz's J/105 DARK'N'STORMY.  Third was David Murphy's well-traveled J/122 PUGWASH another three minutes behind.  Interestingly, VIXEN's finish time of 14:32:51 put her in third overall of all 230+ boats, meaning third fastest boat to finish to Nantucket!

In Division A- Spinnaker, four J's sailed with Alan Fougere's J/160 AVATAR leading the J's home finishing at 14:40:40.  In Division B- Spinnaker, four J's sailed with Mark Scheffer's J/35 SURPRISE leading all other J's finishing at 15:03:32.  In Division C- Spinnaker, three J's sailed with Ira Perry's J/29 SEEFEST leading the J parade finishing at 14:39:15.  In Division D- Spinnaker, four J/24s raced and Jonathan Wenderto's J/24 DRAGIN-Z-BALZ (?) finished second in class finishing at 14:48:58.  In Division F- Non-spinnaker, two J's cruised over to Nantucket with Bill Jones' J/40 SMITTEN finishing second overall!

The FIGAWI race is first and foremost a "fun" family event that hosts a FIGAWI Charity Ball to benefit 24 Cape Cod charities prior to the start of the race.  According to folklore, a long time ago , three sailors started out from Hyannis to race their sailboats to Nantucket. That race would be the first of the Figawi Race Weekends and the beginning of what has become a Cape Cod tradition.  Since that inauspicious start in 1972, whether it was the charm of a race to Nantucket, or maybe just the personal appeal of the early founders is really not clear, but Figawi began to grow by leaps and bounds. A lay day was added in 1978 along with a race back to Hyannis, as the race committee, now formerly organized, turned the Figawi from a one day race into a three day weekend event.  Today, the Figawi has grown into one of the premier sailboat races on the East coast.. a great way to start the summer sailing season! Join them next year for great sailing on Nantucket Sound, great fun and camaraderie on the beautiful island of Nantucket, and memories of being part of a great tradition.  For more FIGAWI Sailing information
  

Blustery Stone Cup Regatta

J/120 DESDEMONA and J/105 JAM SESSION Win

(San Francisco, CA)- Under grey skies and blustery winds the St. Francis Yacht Club's Stone Cup event was held this past weekend of May 15-16. The racing was tight in each of the J one-design divisions.  Typical San Francisco Bay weather greeted the Stone Cup sailors for two days of racing hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club. The Marine Layer that had been missing all year showed its presence over the weekend ensuring the fleets would have plenty of wind for racing. With a strong flood tide providing flat water, at least flat by San Francisco standards, and 15-25 mph of wind from the first gun, each day of racing would have been perfect it wasn't so darn cold!

The 16 boat J/105 class was missing local scratch boat GOOD TIMIN' but the competition was still fierce in this hotly contested one design class. Three different boats each won one of the four races held, but it was Adam Spiegel's JAM SESSION that came out on top. Bruce Stone's ARBITRAGE took second and Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK took third. Each of these two boats also won races individually with BLACKHAWK winning race 2 and 4 and ARBITRAGE winning race three. Simmons probably has a story to tell about his 10th place finish in race one. With a 10-1-3-1 scoring line something dramatic happened, gone shrimping?

In the 40ft J/120 class DESDEMONA owned by John Wimer took the victory while MR. MAGOO helmed by Steve Madeira from Northeast Harbor, ME took second. The podium was rounded out by DAYENU in third but only by the narrowest of margins did the Donald Payan boat miss second place. It went down to the last race in which MR MAGOO took the bullet and put two boats between himself and DAYENU (fourth) and even then it went to a tiebreaker with MR MAGOO taking second by virtue of that low score first place finish.  For more St. FYC Stone Cup sailing information     Photo credits- H20Shots.com/ Erik Simonson  

San Diego J/Fleet Having Fun!

Sailing Anarchy's Scot Tempesta continues his efforts to grow and "save sailing" in the SoCal 'hood.  Here's a quickie on what they've done with the local "paper" yacht club- Cortez Racing Association- to enjoy the gorgeous conditions often found off San Diego.  Says Scot, "We haven't done a local knowledge piece from here in Dago for a long time, and here's one about the Cortez Racing Association's Opening Day race. CRA is a 'paper club' that has been running fun, mostly bay races here and on ANARCHY, we have sailed a bunch of their races this (and last) year, because they, maybe more than any other SD club, have the fun factor nailed down.  This race was a 53 boat, 12 mile mostly light air bay/ocean pursuit start that was a kick because it had a little of everything long beats, long runs, actual need to navigate and the fun of passing boats all race long. (Is passing boats never not fun?).  As much as the multi-day, 5 or 7 race series are challenging, the CRA races are for us, just more fun and that's why we race sailboats, isn't it? It would be great to get more of the sporty-type boats out for their races - just six showed up for this one... In addition to their fun Beercan series starting May 26, there is the West Marine Challenged America - a great cause if there ever was one.  So this is the call out to get as many SD boats, sporties and otherwise, out for this event. No excuses. Sign up, be a part of a worthwhile event, and have some fun! Photo credits- Dennis St. Onge (Da-Woody) and story here.  

Huge J Fleet @ SW NOOD Annapolis

(Annapolis, MD)- Looks like it will be a stellar turn-out for this weekend's SW NOOD Regatta sailing on Chesapeake Bay. 210+ boats to enjoy a sunny, bright weekend in the 80s and warm southerlies-- at least that's the forecast from Meteo Norteamericano-- one hopes NOAA Marine meteorologists have got it right for once.  The J Fleet is enormous with 117+ boats attending (nearly 60% of the entire NOOD fleet) and representatives from across the spectrum of one-design classes and coming from all points of the compass across the Eastern seaboard- from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (our ice hockey mad friends from way up North) down to Houston, TX (our Tex-Mex bronco-busting cow hands from the real South) and from Boston, MA (that sport crazy town renowned for the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics- what else is there?) out to Chicago, IL (another sport crazy town).  Here's a class-by-class report and some of the leaders to watch for this weekend.
The eight boat J/109 One-Design class will have class champions Rick Lyall and Bill Sweetser vying for honors in this closely fought fleet.  Rick's J/109 STORM is dashing south from winning the first day sailing at American YC Spring Series to participate in the first event of the J/109 East Coast Championship.  And, rumor has it Bill Sweetser's RUSH is ready to rock-n-roll.  Should be an interesting match up that sets the standard for the rest of the J/109 season series!

The J/105 One-Design class has twenty-five boats showing up along with some past class champions.  Amongst them will be teams like Jack Biddle's RUM PUPPY, Andrew Kennedy's BAT IV racing with Drake Johnstone as tactician, Jim Rathbun sailing HEY JUDE who finished third in the 2009 North American Championship, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, Carl and Scott Gitchell on TENACIOUS and Travis Weisleder on LUCKY DOG.  All these boats are well-sailed and any one of these boats are capable of winning or getting podium finishes.

With thirty-five boats, the J/80 One-Design class is by far the biggest at the regatta.  The J/80s are racing the fourth event in the 2010 USA Tour that leads up to the Worlds in Newport.  A strong Texas contingent is showing up, including past World Champion Terry Flynn on B-TEAM, class leaders Jay Lutz and Gary Kamins on FIRED UP, and Bruno Pasquinelli.  The Massachusetts teams from around Boston/Buzzards Bay are fielding some remarkably strong crews, including past J/105 North American and Key West Champion Brian Keane racing SAVASANA, past J/105 New England Champion and Sonar Champion Henry Brauer who has Stuart Johnstone aboard as tactician sailing RASCAL and Henry de Groot on WIRED.  The locals from Annapolis who expect to give everyone a serious run for the money include Ken Mangano's MANGO, Brian Robinson's ANGRY CHAMELEON, Aaron Galvin's WILLY T and Chris Johnson's DRAGONFLY.

In the J/22s, twenty-two boats will include a strong local contingent comprised of the current J/22 Midwinter and World Champion Greg Fisher racing WHAT KINDA GONE and Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY going up against some of the Rochester gang such as Chris Doyle on SOLID LAYER and Travis Odenbach on INSTIGATOR.

For the fifteen J/24s sailing, local legend Tony Parker on BANGOR PACKET (remember him leading the J/24 Worlds for a day or so?) will be leading the charge and still teaching some of the kids new tricks on how to get around the race track like the crafty old fox that he is.

The J/30s and J/35s are each eleven boats strong! That's a terrific turn-out for these two classes and familiar names like BIG KAHUNA, CHAOS, REBEL YELL, MEDICINE MAN, BAD COMPANY, AUNT JEAN, MAGGIE, BAD GIRL will be mixing it up with everyone for bragging rights in these perennial one-design classes.   More news soon.  You can follow the action at Sailing World's site.  

J/Fest West 2010

Stormy, Grey Weather Thrashes the Bay

(San Francisco, CA)- The fleet of J's that gathered together for this year's J/Fest were greeted by stormier than normal weather and with breeze directions that were nowhere near the norm for San Francisco Bay.  Here's an account of what it was like to race in the J/105 fleet from the winner, Bruce Stone sailing his boat ARBITRAGE- "It rained and was cold and gusty, up to 25 knots, out of the southeast, so they put the starting line between Harding Rock Buoy near Angel Island and Alcatraz, and ran us to the south near Aquatic Park, a routing I have never done before, across the shipping lanes and across the tide...and the wind near the shore was in the 8-11 range so setting the rig tension was tricky.  Needless to say it was our kind of cockamamie race. We had a good start, duked it out with 4-5 boats who also sailed well, and ultimately won the race. It rained quite hard toward the finish, the front went through and they sent us home.  The wind died after we hit the dock!"  Photo Credit- Erik Simonson/ h2oshots.com

In the 22 boat strong J/105s it was a donnybrook as usual for the top five sailors.  Who won was determined by the finish of the last "cockamamie" race with St. Francis YC's ARBITRAGE avoiding a bad race and just beating Tiburon's Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK, getting a first to Scooter's ninth.  Bruce's team on ARBITRAGE won with a 1-6-3-1 1 tally, beating by four points Scooter Simmons sailing BLACKHAWK with a 4-1-1-9 record. Lying third was Phil Laby and Rick Pipkin's RACER-X from Alameda just two points back....again with a mathematical chance to win in the last race despite their 9th place in the third race.  Photo Credit- Erik Simonson/ h2oshots.com

The J/120 class also saw spirited competition with eight boats.  Racing with several "ringers" from the New England area was Northeast Harbor's Steve Madeira on MR MAGOO, winning by just two points over Harry Lewis' team on CHANCE from San Francisco (see the J/Calendar photo of them!).  Both boats had nearly identical records, MAGOO with a 1-3-1-1 record and CHANCE with 3-1-2-2!  Just off these two boats blistering pace was Don Payan's DAYENU from San Francisco with a 2-4-5-3 score to capture third on the podium with fourteen points.

The J/24s had a blast as usual amongst the seven boats.  Berkeley's Mike Whitfieldon aboard TMC RACING won with a strong 1-1-2-1 record, winning by five points over Darren Cummings' DOWNTOWN UPROAR from Treasure Island with a 2-2-3-3 score to garner second place and Don Taylor's ON BELAY from Brickyard Cove finishing with 4-4-1-2 to get third overall. 

The J Handicap fleet had six boats.  The winner was definitely not determined until the closing minutes of their last race.  The J/22 called CHEESEBURGER became the giant-killer in this fleet.  The CHEESEBURGER gang led by Peter Lane from Paradise Cay won on a squeaker, and a tie-breaker, over Trig Liljestrand of Belvedere Cove on RAGTIME, the super-fast J/90- a downwind flyer in most conditions.  Third was Cam Lewis of Monterey, CA sailing his J/22 TRINITY.  Share For more J/Fest sailing information

J's Dominate BVI Spring Regatta

BAD GIRL is Bad, CAYENITTA is Grande!

(Roadtown, Tortola, BVI)- Once again, it was a picture perfect day in the British Virgin Islands for the last day of racing of the BVI Spring Regatta, with sun and wind all day long. There were a number of battles out on the race course which were fought to the very end providing plenty of action on the SOL, Norman and LIME One Design Race areas.

BAD GIRL, St. Croix's Rob Armstrong's J/100, won Racing Class C.  BAD GIRL sparred with the BVI's Dave West's Melges 32, Jurakan, all weekend in Racing C. "In the first race today," says BAD GIRL trimmer, Carlos Skov, we definitely let Jurakan back in the game. Just one point separated us. The second race, we put our heads down, sailed well and ended up beating the two Melges in the last five minutes. It was like that all weekend. The level of competition has really come up and we think its because we all push each other."

In Racing D Class, the J/80 OTRA KOSA sailed by Kike Gonzalez and buddies from Puerto Rico took 3rd. The well-sailed classic J/27 MAGNIFICENT 7, kept in great shape by Paul Davis from USVI finished 4th.  The brand spanking new J/95 SHAMROCK VIII sailed all over the Caribbean this winter by Tom Mullen finished a respectable 5th for a shoal-draft, centerboard cruiser!

A steady presence on the Caribbean circuit has been Rick Wesslund's crew sailing his J/120 EL OCASO.  Having put thousands of miles on their boat, they're insistence on having fun is infectious.  They were rewarded for their efforts again by taking second overall in Racing E- Racer/Cruiser.

The competition in Racing F- Racer/Cruiser was tough! The J/105 UMAKUA sailed by Julio Reguero from Puerto Rico finished 3rd- Julio was winning class until they got DSQ'd in race 6.  The other J/105 ABRACADABRA, raced by another crew from Puerto Rico and Carlos Camachio finished 4th. The J/40 NEPENTHE sailed by Bob Read from Barrington, RI managed a 6th for a pure cruising boat.  And, the girls sailing the J/33 BOOMERANG- Pat Nolan- had a wonderful last day and managed to get a respectable 7th.

As noted above, it just seems that Tony Sanpere is on a roll-- perhaps far longer than anyone can imagine!  Tony's J/36 CAYENITTA GRANDE simply took all the marbles in BVI Performance Cruising Class-- winning by a significant margin with three firsts!  And, it also looked like a J/Cruising class!  Third was the J/46 MISS MAJIC sailed Jim Baus and lying 5th in the J/160 AVATAR was Alan Fouger.

As usual, the most intense, nail-biting finish came from the IC/24 course. It came down to the final rounding of the leeward mark in the last of 21 races to determine the winner in the IC/24 class. "I saw the door open and I took it," says Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo, about the maneuver that put the necessary three boats in-between his ORION and closest competitor, TEAM LIME, to win the class by one point.  TEAM LIME, sailed by the BVI's Colin Rathbun, had a three-point advantage going into the last race. "We had a horrible rounding and then a big shift," says Rathbun, who finished second by one point. "But, it was exciting and a lot of fun." INTAC, raced by the BVI's Mark Plaxton, finished third in the nine-boat class.

Seventeen-year-old BVI sailor, DonTae' Hodge, is no stranger to sailing IC-J/24s. He's crewed aboard the modified J/24-design since he was a pre-teen and last year took first as a skipper in the Premier's Cup and third in the Nation's Cup, two events raced out of Tortola. What was different about sailing this weekend is that Hodge met his crew for the first time this morning on the dock before the races started. "I started communicating more as the day went on and I got my confidence and we all worked in sync together," says Hodge, who raced aboard Latitude 18.

This year, members of the press were invited to sail in the IC/24 fleet. Two journalists, San Francisco's Paige Brooks from SAILING ANARCHY and Efrain Rivera from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, were among Hodge's crew. "This is the first time I've seen the boat," says Brooks. "I don't like the J/24, but I love the open cockpit in the IC/24." Rivera added, "It's my first time sailing an IC/24. DonTae' is an excellent driver, so it was fun. It's real hands on. You're in the whirlwind of everything. It's a great idea to put the press on these boats." See Paige Brooks account below in J/Community.

Not at the top of the heap in Racer Cruiser Class but first at the weather mark in the second race on the last day, Pat Nolan's J/33, BOOMERANG, and her all women crew, were leading by a full minute. "It was great," says Nolan, who operates Sistership Sailing School in the BVI. Her crew are all former students. "The competition in our class is very keen and we're largely inexperienced," says Katie Sharp, from northern Virginia. "Don't get me wrong; we like sailing with the fellas, but, it's also nice to kick the boy's butts too."

Of note, the BVI Spring Regatta is the last race in the CORT (Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle) Series. Winners of the series are as follows:  Spinnaker A- 1st- BAD GIRL- Robert Armstrong's J/100; Spinnaker B- 2nd- MAGNIFICENT 7- Paul Davis' J/27; Performance Cruising: 1st- CAYENNITA GRANDE- Tony Sanpere's J/36; IC-J/24- 1ST- LIME- Colin Rathbun.    For more BVI Spring Regatta sailing info.    Photo credits: Yachtshots BVI

SW NOOD San Diego- Huge J Fleet

JAVELIN Dominates J/105s

(San Diego, CA)- Fifty-one J's sailed this past weekend's NOOD in San Diego, over 50% of all offshore keelboat fleets!  The weather was spectacular.  Postcard perfect perhaps.  Great winds.  Good race management.  Great parties.  What's wrong with this picture?  Hmm, yet another great spring weekend in San Diego, CA.  Ever wonder why more US NAVY Admirals retire on Point Loma and Coronado Island?  Go figure, find out for yourself why guys like Dennis Conner, Malin Burnham and other notables can't ever be convinced there's a better climate to live in worldwide-- heck, they oughta know since they've sailed everywhere.  Although, too much sun can't possibly do the soul too much good, does it?

There were more J/Boats represented at the NOOD than any other boat manufacturer! With 18 boats the J/105s took the honors of being the largest class at the regatta with J/105 JAVELIN having a nearly perfect regatta with four bullets and one second place finish. JAVELIN, owned and sailed by Pam and Doug Werner, didn’t miss a shift and consistently lead the two day event in their home waters. JAVELIN crew SDYC Commodore Bill Campbell and wife Sherri thoroughly enjoyed being out in front with the two couple crewed JAVLEIN.  One of the big challenges for the crew was trying to keep up with the NCAA’s and Sherri’s alma mater Syracuse University’s game on Sunday.  Second was Dennis and Sharon Case sailing WINGS and third was Gary Mozer on CURRENT OBSESSION 2. The top five boats sailed remarkably well, taking all podium finishes for the series. 

J/World San Diego also came out in full force, hosting tune up races on Friday and adding four J/80’s to the racing in the 12 boat J/80. San Diego’s morning fog took a little while to burn off and the first race of the day kept the J/Sailors racing in less 150 -200 feet of visibility at times. After the fog burned off typical San Diego conditions replaced the fog revealing a beautiful day with the breeze consistently at 7 – 14 knots and sunny skies.  J/Sailors were surprised with candy and treats being delivered on the water between races by J/Concierge Amanda Denton. The twelve boat J/80 fleet was won by Curt Johnson on AVET with nine points, six points ahead of Gregg Kelly sailing MERKIN.  John Steen sailing UNDERDOG was tied for third with Steve Wyman on HUNU, but UNDERDOG won by virtue of not "who beat who" but by most 1sts, 2nds and 3rds! 

On Sunday the wind built to 12 knots, however racing proved to be challenging with constant shifts. In a great example of Sportsmanship to help his fellow fleet members Tom Brott, owner of ELECTRA and Fleet Captain of J/109 Fleet, stepped up to help Daylen Teren, new to the 109 fleet and the owner of GREAT BALLS OF FIRE in his first ever high point regatta by sailing with him during Sunday's races. Tom Brott's ELECTRA did, indeed, electrify their competition, winning with straight bullets- five firsts!  Second behind that ELECTRA-fying performance was Steve Carter's GERONIMO beating by just one point John Shulze's LINSTAR who finished third.

In the nine boat J/120 fleet, a repeat winner scored top spot on the podium. CC RIDER sailed by Chuck Nichols won with a 1-1-2-1-5 record for 10 pts to win by nine points over CAPER, raced by John Laun and JIM, raced by John Snook.  It was tight, solid racing with podium finishers amongst 8 of 9 competitors!

The J/24s as always had a great time.  After all, can't kill the spirit of a class that has survived the test of time over 30+ years!  Eight boats showed up and RUMBLEFISH with Peer Fischel won a closely fought series by a scant three points over Charlie Fox's MOURNING WOOD.  Just off the pace was Norman Hosford on SUPER STRINGS.  Susan Taylor put in a nice performance getting fourth overall with TAKE FIVE.  For more Sailing World NOOD San Diego information.  Photo credits- Tim Wilkes Photography  

J/100 BAD GIRL Wins St Croix Hospice Regatta

Tony and Ellen Sanpere from St. Croix supplied this report: "We came in second in Performance cruising in my old J/36- CAYENNITA GRANDE. We also had J/27's in the race with one of them getting close to a podium finish. Also sailing was Bob Armstrong's J/100 BAD GIRL.   On the Buck Island Channel course, the J/100 BAD GIRL won the Spinnaker Racing class with an all-Crucian crew and six top three finishes. Though long-time J/24 sailor and helmsman Jens Hookanson was born in St. Croix, he has lived in the U.S. since age 16 and had never sailed in the annual SCYC regatta. He liked the race to Christiansted, followed by windward-leeward courses in the Channel. "Tactician Carlos Skov is key to the program," according to Hookanson. "Skov was especially touched by the win, as his mother was the first hospice patient on St. Croix, and Skov weighed in at eight cases of Cruzan Rum."  Armstrong and his J/100 crew also received an invitation to the National Hospice Regatta Championships, to be sailed in Rochester, NY in June.