J/Fest Southwest- Oct 13-14

(Houston, TX)- Lakewood YC on Galveston Bay in southern Texas along the Gulf of Mexico is again hosting the Third Annual J/Fest Southwest.  Open to all J/Owners, the focus of the J/Fest Southwest Regatta is to provide a Regatta venue that is extra fun for J/Boat owners, their family, and friends. While the racers are on the water, their spouses, children, family, and friends can enjoy a myriad of activities and tourist attractions in the Bay Area. Goodie bags for skippers will contain coupons for family fun.

One design fleets slated for the J/Fest Southwest Regatta include J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105 and the J/109’s. It will be a circuit stop for the J/22’s and the J/24’s. All J/Boats are welcome to race in the PHRF classes and in the J/Cruise class. Any J/Boat is eligible to participate, and the regatta organizers intend to offer several exciting formats for the non One Design racers. This year we expect to see a couple of hot J/70’s flying around as well!   For  more J/Fest SW sailing information

J/70 Flies Around Island

(Jamestown, Rhode Island)- There are few regattas on the Narraganset Bay yachting calendar that have a greater following and are looked forward to with greater anticipation during the course of the "Newport Summer" than Conanicut YC's Around Island Race.  While Newport enjoys multiple "around Jamestown Island races" during the course of the summer, from little boats, to big boats, to classic yachts (like really big ones), the Granddaddy of them all has always been the Labor Day Weekend romp around the 18-21nm course on Sunday.

This year 100 boats competed in the 85th CYC Around Island Race for both the new elapsed time trophy as well as the PHRF handicap corrected time trophy.  Plus, there were one-design classes competing, including J/22s and J/24s from the local Narraganset Bay fleets.

The forecast for the day was a bit variable, but suffice it so say the SSE winds of 8-12 kts ultimately developed such that the fleet was treated to yet another classic around the island romp.  While fleets A to F started in light winds with a massive "ebb current" flushing them out of the start area just off Conanicut YC, the combination of current "wind" and actual "wind" conspired to push the small boats out to the first major turning mark off Beavertail Lighthouse at a rapid speed of current + wind of about 3 kts VMG.  The RC's PRO wisely decided to postpone the "big boats" for 45 minutes until the wind re-established itself.  At that point, it was going to be clear that the overall elapsed and corrected time silverware was going to be a run-for-the-money by the "big boats".  The fleet was treated to a "classic" Bay sea breeze, building up to 15 knots so the sailors could enjoy a fast downhill ride down the West Passage to the northern part of Jamestown (against the strong ebb current) before turning back upwind into the moderate southerly against a tide that changed to beat (guess what) back into the flood tide!!  Ouch.  Can't win some days, but the current/wind Gods conspired so the fleet was basically fighting against the current all the way around the island!!  Little boats got crushed in the standings, big boats dominated by a country furlong.

For the one-design boats, none of the wind/ current stuff mattered-- whomever beat who got the ultimate bragging rights. In the J/22 class, 1st was LUCY sailed by Cory Sertl, 2nd was WHARF RAT helmed by Matt Dunbar and 3rd was MACHBUSTER led by Jeff Westcott.  In the J/24s, it was "girl power" again like their compatriots in Hong Kong!  This time is was Lindsey Turowski winning with BERLY MOVIN, followed in 2nd by Bob Lambert's BARFLY and 3rd was Newport J/24 class veteran Mike Hill on OBSTREPEROUS.

In PHRF handicap world it was an eclectic bunch of boats and fleets that made up the rest.  Starting with Class B the J/24 NIGHTHAWK finished 3rd with Richard Barker and Mike Ryan.  Class F saw two J/29s taking two top spots with Dennis Nixon's LYNX in 3rd and Steve Wood's BIG TAZ in 4th.  Class G was a tough fleet, but the J/109 PICANTE sailed by Dr Rob Salk led the J teams home with a 2nd, followed by Paul Grimes' J/35 BREAKAWAY IN 4th and EC Helme's J/92s SPIRIT in 5th.

In PHRF Class H, it was "sports-boat" shootout with J/80s, a J/70, a pair of VX-One's and others.  In the end, the J/70 J-HAWK sailed by Stu Johnstone and Julia Langford (sailing double-handed) were first across the line elapsed amongst the smaller boats but ended up 3rd on PHRF corrected (sailing with a 111 PHRF rating).  Winning the top two slots were the J/80s GROMIT sailed by Andy Burton and GOOSE in second sailed by Chris Bulger.  Fifth in class was Peter McCarthy and gang on the J/80 EAGLE!  A great performance overall by the J/Sports boat gang.

Finally, in PHRF Class J, finishing third was the custom J/44 WHITE GOLD sailed by Jamestown "hommie" and CYC member Jim Bishop.

The trophy winners for the event included a proverbial J/Alumni list of owners, including Phil Lotz (J/24s and J/105s) sailing his Swan 42 to the Fastest Elapses Award and Malcom Gefter (J/105s) on his Melges 32 winning the Handicap Award.  Plus, the Eads Johnson Trophy (large boat, fastest corrected time) went to Jim Bishop's J/44 custom WHITE GOLD and the Robert A. MacLeod Rear Commodore Trophy (day-sailer, fastest corrected time) went to Cory Sertl's J/22 LUCY!!   For more CYC Around Island Race sailing information

J/Teams Hot In Annapolis!

(Annapolis, Maryland)- Annapolis Race Week (ARW) is a Mid-Atlantic Region annual event that occurs every year over Labor Day weekend off the famous shores of Annapolis (a.k.a. "Naptown"). The 3-day event offers a significant and unique opportunity for sailors to party and have fun on the city-front right in the city square where the enormous Annapolis Sailboat Show is held every year in October.  There were significant fleets of one-design J/Teams sailing, including J/24s, J/35s, J/30s, J/105s and J/80s.  Plus, J/111s sailed in PHRF class.

J/24s had six boats participating with Paul van Ravenswaay's team on MILLENIUM FALCON walking off with top honors with four 1sts, one 2nd and three 3rds for 15 pts total. Second was Paul Ford on WILDCARD with a 4-3-3-4-3-1-1-3 record for 22 pts.  Just one point back was Peter Rich on USA 4006 with a 1-5-4-1-4-2-4-2 tally for 23 pts.

In the J/35s, a strong contingent of seven boats sought the "holy grail", but in the end it was Masci McGonigle's WINDEPENDENT that just squeaked out a win with a 1-1-2-6 score for 10 pts.  Just behind them the score was settled on a tie-breaker with Pete Scheidt's MAGGIE beating out Chuck Kohlerman's MEDICINE MAN.  MAGGIE's 3-5-1-2 for 11 pts was better than the Med-MAN's 2-2-3-4 also for 11 pts.

The J/105s had the one of the large one-design racing division with seventeen boats participating.  Jack Biddle's RUM PUPPY was "alpha male dog" here with a fairly dominating 4-2-3-1-1-2 for 13 pts.  The next four boats had to fight it out amongst themselves for 2nd and 3rd on the podium.  Carl & Scott Gitchell's crew on TENACIOUS emerged from the smoke-filled field of battle as top of the pack with a 1-4-5-11-7-1 for 29 pts to snag second place.  They just managed to beat the VELOCE gang with 31 pts who finished 3rd.  Fourth was Andrew Kennedy's BAT IV with 32 pts and fifth was Carolyn & Chris Groobey's JAVA.

J/30s had a nice turnout with seven boats and it was quite clear the top three had an incredibly competitive series.  Setting the BETTER MOUSETRAP was Bob Putnan, sailing to a steady 1-3-1-4-2-2 for 13 pts.  One point back BEPOP'ing around was Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello with a 3-1-3-1-3-3 for 14 pts.  Then thirsting INSATIABLY for more was Ron Anderson's crew managing to smoke the fleet for two picket fences on the last day, but not enough to overcome his friends in 1-2.  So, Ron's 4-2-5-3-1-1 for 16 pts meant they had to settle for 3rd.

The largest one-design fleet sailing were the J/80s with eighteen boats on the starting line.  In the end, it was Kristen Robinson's much-improved team winning by a substantial margin- their 1-3-2-4-2-2 for 14 pts meant they had a 7 pt margin of victory.  Second was Ray Wulff on GORILLA PANIC! with a 3-7-3-2-1-5 for 21 pts.  Third was John White's team just one pt back.  Fourth was Todd Olds on TSUNAMI with 29 pts and fifth was Clarke McKinney sailing AUNT EDNA'S DEAD with 34 pts.

In handicap world of PHRF A-1, the J/111s had a dog-fight for top to the pack.  This time, it was Tony Culotta's CUORE DI LEONE overcoming the well-traveled VELOCITY for top banana.  Tony's crew managed to garner the identical score of 2-1-2-1 for 6 pts to Marty's 1-2-1-2 also for 6 pts, with the winner being who won the last race!  For more Annapolis Race Week sailing information

Annapolis NOOD Sailing Preview

NEW J/111 One-Design Class Debuts
(Annapolis, MD)- While the Sperry Topsider crew can't guarantee awesome sailing, they certainly can make sure the sailors are happy with their togs and clogs and make life ashore festive and fun.  With a forecast of light to moderate winds for Thursday/ Friday out of the south and a weak front switching the winds into the northerly quadrants at a robust 4-7 knots for Saturday/ Sunday, the PRO's will be on their toes to get some decent sailing in for the madding crowds.  How many teams will be in attendance?  With nearly 200 boats registered, there will be over 1,100+ J sailors crewing on 141 J's (that's 72% of the fleet!).

The J One-Design fleets are all well-represented and are broken down into five J/111s, a dozen J/109s, aye-teen J/105s, ocho J/35s, move J/30s, thirty-four J/80s, nineteen J/24s and thirty-six J/22s.  In fact, it's quite a significant turn-out of the 35 foot J-Designs- J/35s from the 80s, J/105s from the 90s and the new J/111s.

On that score, the J/111 fleet is shaping up to be a good test of how crews adopt to the flatter, choppier, shiftier waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  Three of the 111 teams all sailed in Charleston, having to cope with massive easterly swells from an offshore storm in NW to NE winds, making for a rolly-polly ride upwind and downwind.  Past champion VELOCITY sailed by Marty Roesch will surely be on the comeback trail and CRW Champion RAGIN led by Bob Moran and 3rd place finisher Henry Brauer on FLEETWING will be challenging for the top of the pack.  With those three as a benchmark, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other two boats, Jim Whited's BAD CAT and Anthony Culotta's CUORE DI LEONE fair against some of their well-practiced compatriots.

With three dozen teams showing up on the starting line, the J/22s continue to demonstrate that a bit of chutzpah, fun and camaraderie go a long way for long-term fleet success.  There are many familiar faces in this crowd as well as some new ones.  The event may yet turn into another donnybrook between the Rochester crowd versus the Annapolis gang.  Leading the Rochester crew will be Chris Doyle on THE JUG 41 and Vic Snyder on MO'MONEY.  The local Naptown crews are pretty formidable, amongst them will be Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY, Al Terhune on DAZZLER, Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET and Todd Hiller on LEADING EDGE, just to name a few.

After nearly 35 years of racing, you'd think the J/24 teams would have an established pecking order amongst the top teams.  NOT!  As has been atypical of many top international one-design classes, the J/24 is so easy to pick up fast by good sailors that just about anyone can be competitive in a short period of time.  Same holds true now as it did back in 1977.  However, octogenarian Tony Parker on the storied BANGOR PACKET XXX is the local Maine/DC boy who's been keeping all the latest boys and girls in check.  After all, many a J/24 World Champion has crossed swords with Tony and lost-- he's still sharp as a tack after all those years of "ultimate fighting" in the J/24 class.  Making sure they learned a thing or two and hope to stay in front of Tony are recent J/24 World Champ Tim Healey on 11TH HOUR RACING from Newport, Robby Brown from St Pete on USA 799, Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER and Pete Kassal on SPACEMAN SPIFF.

An excellent turnout of thirty-four J/80s re-affirms their class strength after good fleets at Key West, Bacardi Sailing Week and Charleston Race Week-- all events on the J/80 Winter Circuit.  J/80 sailors are having a lot of fun racing their fast, closely-matched A-sail boats.  Teams that could be factors are changing as some teams improve their capabilities on boat-speed, boat-handling and tactics.  Showing great improvements recently has been Kristen Robinson and team aboard ANGRY CHAMELEON.  Others in the hunt will include Andy Burton on GROMIT from Newport, Chris Chadwick's CHURCH KEY, Bruno Pasquinelli's TIAMO, Mike Sudofsky's BOB DYLAN, Ramzi Bannura's STACKED DECK, Will Crump & Tom Klok's R80, Brian Keane's SAVASANA and Erik Storck's NA Champion RUMOR.

The J/30 sailors continue to enjoy the first cruiser-racer ever built by the J/Boats Team.  And, many "classics" of this genre abound.  These teams have a scream, no doubt about it. So, making any predictions about an outcome are certainly beyond the comprehension of even the J/30 sailors themselves.  Has something to do with rum, beer, sun, fun and varying degrees of that combination over three days of sailing.  So, working on past performance, we can at least look for Pam Morri's BUMP, Ron Anderson's INSATIABLE, George Watson's AVITA and Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP to be hunting around the front of the pack most times this weekend.

The eighteen boat J/105 fleet will be as competitive as ever.  Chesapeake locals such as Peter McChesney on the now famous MYSTERY MACHINE, Chris & Carolyn Groobey on JAVA, Andrew Kennedy on BAT IV, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, the Gitchell's on TENACIOUS and Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY will certainly be factors in the top five.  Toss in top three J/105 NA's sailor Jim Rathbun on HEY JUDE from Toronto, ONT, Canada and some US Naval Academy Sailing Team college sailors and you're certain to see a running gun battle taking place on the waters just off Easton's Point.

J/35 sailors continue to enjoy one of the most successful 35 footers ever built as racer-cruisers.  Love the boat names, some of the old classics and some new variations.  T-BONE, AUNT JEAN, DAKOTA GIRL, BAD COMPANY, MEDICINE MAN, REBEL YELL.  Hell, might as well be at a Harley Davidson reunion in the Badlands of North Dakota, don't ya think?  Free tattoos go with this gang (although the J/30 guys might argue this point).  And, they love it, working those grinders on the massive kevlar/carbon genoas and monster masthead spinnakers to go faster and faster.  Cool boat.  Cooler crews.  Predictions here?  None.  Teams change, teams get hungover. Bless'em all, they will certainly have fun and one may guess it would be a dead heat with their J/30 friends for the highest "fun quotient" amongst the J/Clan.

At a dozen strong, the J/109s have amongst their fleet three past J/109 North American Champions in the form of Bill Sweetser's RUSH (the Local) versus Rick Lyall's STORM (the Outsider- just a Long Island Sound guy), all contending with that silver fox from Buzzards Bay/Cape, Ted Herlihy on GUT FEELING (the Foreigner- so far East the Earth ends in a cliff).  In the end, way too hard to call this one with some many other strong teams tossed into the mix.  For more Sperry Topsider Sailing World NOOD Annapolis sailing information

J's Enjoy Puget Sound Sailing Regatta

The Puget Sound Sailing Championships were held in October off Seattle, Washington. Sailing in this year's event were an enormous cross-section of J's big and small, from the bright-red J/22 called JINX to the beautiful flag-blue J/160 called JAM.  Snow-capped peaks are a common backdrop in the Pacific Northwest, as seen here at the 2011 Puget Sound Sailing Championship with this gorgeous J/29 sailing upwind on port tack with the sunny Cascade Mountains behind them.  It was a spectacular day of sailing despite the fact the forecast was lousy at best.  You can see many more pretty photos by Jan's Marine Photography here.

Texas Two-Stepping "J/Fests"

(Houston, TX)- Texas likes'em big.  Regattas. Parties. Cars. Mechanical Bulls. Trucks. Girls hair. Guys hats. College football.  Longhorns.  Rattlesnakes.  Tumbleweed.  Trucks, did I mention them already?  Doh.  But, most of all, Texans LOVE people and friends.  So, it's no wonder ya'all out there are just "family" to them.  Big hearts is what Texans are all about, that's why the gals call you "love" or "sweetie" the first time they see you.  Join in any BBQ with a case of beer and you're a hero and friend for life.  Their sailing is simply an extension of that fun-loving, simple philosophy on life.  Ever wonder why they're renown for their fabulous hospitality?  Wonder no further.  Just jump in the car, toss the family (and dogs) inside, head on down to warmer climes (BTW, it's no longer 100+ degrees down there) and have a blast.  The combination of warm weather, cheap boat storage, cheap lodging, cheap tickets on Southwest Airlines into Houston-Hobby might entice some northern folk who may already be shivering to come on down.  (Note- one of the Dillon J/80 owners leaves his J/80 in Houston over the winter and gets $60.00 round trip tickets and comes every weekend)!!  There are three events to whet your whistle and strum along on any available ukelele or "geetar" at the saloon:

- The Compass Regatta- October 1-2- open to all boats, one-design and PHRF.  The J/111 will be racing in this one along with the J/109 fleet, J/105's, J/120's, etc.  Online Registration here.

- Harvest Moon Regatta- October 13-16- hosted by Lakewood YC in Houston.  This is a 120 nm race from the Galveston Bay jetties to Port Aransas. It's the "Texas Chicago-Mac".  Last year there were 250 boats, racing everything from Grandma's old bathtub to the latest racing machines, J/105s to J/44s.  Like the Chi-Mac, it's the voyage that counts, so you can tell the story at the party later!  Is their a "Pink Pony" in Port Aransas?  Register on-line here.

- J/Fest Southwest- October 29-30th- also hosted by Lakewood YC as a J/Boats only event.  There will be one-design classes for J/22 (J/World Annapolis on the water coaching for this fleet), J/24 (circuit stop), J/80 (circuit stop), J/105 (Regional invitational), J/109 (regional invitational) and J/PHRF, and J/Cruise.  On course video/ photography will also be streamed to TV's live during the day.  Friends and family not on the water can track their favorite J team or head over to the amusement park at Kemah or NASA/Johnson Space Center for the tour, or museum's shopping!  After racing, the J/24 fleet is sponsoring lawn games after Saturday's racing and Lakewood YC is putting on a Cajun feast Saturday night!  After dinner, boogie to some live music!  If you have a big boat we are offering free in-and-out launch/haul with a 50 ton crane!  Register on-line here.

  

J's Dominate "The HOOD" Regatta

(Houston, TX)- The Houston Yacht Club along with their neighbors in the "hood", Lakewood and Texas Corinthian YCs, always seem to be favorites amongst sailors for hosting regattas.  For all the reasons outlined above when talking about our friends in Texas, they pull out all the stops and make sure everyone is welcome-- and, most importantly, do it in a "big" way so everyone is happy!  This past weekend's HOOD Regatta (Houston Offshore One-Design) was an epochal, history-making event for the region.  There were one hundred boats that showed up and the J sailors simply dominated the proceedings, showing up with 48 J's in total spread across J/22s (19), J/24s (12), J/80s (13) and J/105s (4)- by a country furlong the most dominant "brand" at the regatta- 50% of the fleet!  Might as well have been called "J/Fest Pre-Regatta"!

In the biggest fleet of the event, the J/22s saw some excellent racing across the board with a few surprises, twists and turns thrown in for good measure.  Past J/22 World Champion Terry Flynn had a rough go of it, sailing his J/22 TEJAS to a hard fought third place with a 2-3-1-2-5-11 record for 24 pts, losing out any chance at first because of the "slow" last race.  Reigning supreme was a long-time road warrior Rob Johnston from Dallas' Rush Creek YC, sailing his J/22 DIESEL SNACK to a pretty convincing first overall, snagging four bullets, a 3rd and 6th to win by 8 pts.  Second was another Dallas team, Max scott racing FAST LANE to a 4-5-2-3-2-5 for 21 points, holding off the indomitable Terry Flynn for one more regatta.  Fourth was Brank Koeopke sailing RICH SKANK (?) and fifth was Ruthie Lambert skippering OUT OF SIGHT.

The J/24s had a real donnybrook for the top three, with all scores being settled between the teams in the last race.  Emerging from the dust bowl of a scrum was Bobby Harden's team on MR HAPPY, their 3-1-3-3-2-3 for 15 pts being the most consistent of the top teams.  Winning going into the last two races was Bryan Dryer on RUM LINE, but Bryan's team couldn't hold it together, adding a 7-5 to their previous 1-2-2-2 record to finish second with 19 pts.  After starting slowly with a 4-6, Doug Weakly's team on AMBASSADOR screamed into contention with three straight bullets, only to blow it in the last race with an 8th for 21 pts to secure third overall.  Lying fourth was Corey Harding on another "happy" boat- HAPPY DANCE.  And, fifth was Dov Kivlovitz on USA 93!

There was a great turnout for the J/80s in this event.  Bill Rose's team on KICKS simply did "kick up their heels" and show their transom to the fleet, amassing an impressive two 1sts and three 2nds for 8 pts to win by the healthiest margin in the entire regatta- 12 pts in five races!  Paul Parsons raced PARSONS PROJECT to a 1-2-6(scp)-5-6 for 20 pts, good enough for second.  Just behind them it was a full-on wild ride for four boats, all of whom nearly all tied each other after the last race!  Winning the tie-breaker for third was Claude Welles on JACKRABBIT, fourth was Forbes Durdin on MOJITO.  Winning the tie-break for fifth was Al Poindexter skippering ANDALE, sixth was Alan Bates on WHISKEY TANGO.

While the J/105s may have had one of the smallest fleets in the regatta, it might as well have been a three-way match race for top honors.  No quarter given here, or there, or anywhere!  At the end, the top three boats finished just three points apart after five races.  Emerging from the scuffles in the last race was Bob Brann's RADIANCE, winning with a 3-2-2-1-1 for 9 pts.  Missing out a strong opportunity to win was Uzi Ozeri's INFINITY.  Uzi's team started by firing off a 1-1-1, then succumbed perhaps to a case of missing brain cells (or "slows") on Sunday, amassing a 3-4 for 10 points to drop into second.  Hanging tough all regatta long was Malcolm Brenner's BABE, sailing to a 2-3-3-2-2 for 12 pts to snag the bronze on the podium.

Finally, "Thanks" must be given to the amazing program laid out by the event's sponsors.  Mount Gay Rum had a bevy of Mt. Gay Girls running around serving up Rum drinks.  The HYC Ragnots also supported the event with "Weinerfest", raising money for the HYC Youth programs-- no question the crowds seem to be pleased with the delicious combination of wieners and Mt Gay for dinner!    Sailing photo credits- Lacy Photos   Sailing photo credits- Byrne Photo   For more J/80 & J/105 sailing information.    For more J/22 & J/24 sailing information

  

BRILLIANCE Radiates At Chester Race Week

Big J/29 & J/24 Fleets Scrum For Class Honors

(Chester, Nova Scotia)- Every summer, several boats from the Northeast
in America use the Marblehead-Halifax Race to extend their summer
sailing adventures along the gorgeous bay and islands that dot the
waters off Chester, Nova Scotia.  In early August, the fog banks for the
most part burn-off fast or are non-existent and the weather Gods
certainly seem to smile on the hardy group of sailors who have grown to
love Chester Race Week.  This year, the fleet was again blessed with a
few days of gorgeous weather.



In
the A2 PHRF fleet, Colin Mann's J/92 POOHSTICKS nearly pulled off a
race week win, but their 6-5 in the last two races dashed all chances of
winning the brass-ring this year.  Instead, they had to settle for
third overall just three agonizing points away from the top of the
podium.  Fourth in their class was the J/35 SUMROO skippered by Gary
Sullivan, seventh was the J/29 sailed by Jeremy Wood and eighth was the
J/35 J-HAWK sailed by Thane MacDonald.



In the D1 PHRF fleet, the J/120 BRILLIANCE sailed brilliantly by Richard
Calder managed a 1-1-3 tally to win with only five points!  Other than a
slow start, the J/111 BLAST skippered by Mark Surette won the last race
to add to their earlier 5-7 to finish with 13 pts.



The most remarkable fleet growth has been the fractional J/29s and the
J/24s.  The J/24s had a great turnout with eight boats  having great
sailing around the bay and in the buoy races.  Dale Robinson's team on
SLAM IN 29 SECONDS sailed to six 1sts and two 2nds in nine race total to
win by 3 pts.  Second was Greg Burden's ADRENALINE RUSH with 13 pts. 
Kim Drisdelle's BLACKJACK was third, fourth was Ross Romney in RUSH HOUR
and rounding out the top five was Brian Storey on MUFFIN.



The
twelve (yes- 12!) J/29s were a very colorful site on the water since
most all boats had colored spinnakers!  Like their J/24 brotherhood, the
J/29s also had a top dog being the "alpha puppy" of the gang.  Chris
MacDonald's crew on SCOTCH MIST IV had four 1sts in nine races to win
with 14 pts (including drop).  Andrew Childs had the SILVER WOMAN team
rocking in most races and managed to also get two 1sts to place second
with 23 pts.  Third was Andrew Orr's FEED ME with 33 pts, narrowly
beating out Scott and Matt Christie's COLMONELL in 4th place.  Fifth was
Evan Petley-Jones driving SATISFACTION.



Of special note was that long-time North Sails consultant and designer
Andreas Josenhans was Regatta Chairman.  Helping Chester YC put on a
great show and helping out considerably on race management.  Andreas
also had many pearls of wisdom for the sailors, offering some of the
extensive knowledge prior to and after each day's racing.  In fact,
here's a great YouTube video of some of Andreas' bits and bobs-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoZTYbr6xU0    More sailing news and results on Chester Race Week FB page

    

AFTERTHOUGHT Wins Southern Bay Race Week

(Hampton Roads, Virginia)- Skippered by Craig Wright, the J/109 AFTERTHOUGHT from Raleigh, North Carolina, won THE BLACK SEAL CUP, for best overall performance at Southern Bay Race Week. In the largest of the handicap and one-design fleets, PHRF A2 (12 boats), AFTERTHOUGHT had to toss out a 2nd place to win with five firsts as counters! The regatta, which is sailed in Hampton Roads, drew 98 keel boats from the mid-Atlantic and as far away as Maine.

On Friday, the first day of racing, the fleet raced in the Harbor, after a long-range recon race committee launch reported rolling waves as high as skyscrapers in the Bay itself. Racing breezes and smooth surfaces made for three opening day races in the same waters where the Civil War Battle of the Ironclads took place in 1862.  Saturday morning the seas in the Bay off Norfolk's Ocean View had abated and the fleet got in three races in conditions that rewarded, in addition to other skills, attention to wind shifts and Bay currents.  On Sunday morning, Mother Nature threw a curve. While the racers eat breakfast, downpours as thick as their pancake syrup hit the area. Racing was postponed ashore and not much later warnings of expected severe thunderstorms kept officials from sending the fleet out. Rather the party tent was activated and by noon the Gosling's Black Seal Rum was offsetting the dampness.

The J/35s sailed as a one-design class.  The winner was MAGGIE sailed by Peter Scheidt of Highland, MD.  Second was T-BONE, sailed by Bruce Artman from Tracy's Landing, MD and third was BUMP IN THE NIGHT skippered by Maury Niebur from West River, MD.

The J/105 class was led by VELOCE, sailed by Marty Hublitz and Eddie Hornick from Roanoke, VA.  Second was INVEVITABLE sailed by Mike Karn, of Richmond, VA and third was LOOSE CANNON sailed by Strother Scott from Maidens, VA.

The J/24s have continued to be a popular class sailing in this region.  Winners were QUICKY sailed by Mike Veraldi from Virginia Beach, VA.  Second was Neil Ford and Elisabeth Biondi from Hampton, VA and finally third was CHOP CHOP skippered by Rodney Paice of Portsmouth, VA.  For more Southern Bay Race Week sailing information.

  

J's Invade Annapolis NOOD

The Battle (and the Party) Rage On!
(Annapolis, MD)- After last weekend's Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, there will be plenty of scores to settle at the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD.  Next weekend's STS Annapolis NOOD will see 221 teams racing in 16 one-design divisions. An enormous turnout of 138 J's (62% of the entire fleet!) are sailing in seven fleets, including thirty-seven J/22s, thirteen J/24s, twenty-nine J/80s, fourteen J/30s, twenty-eight J/105s, seven J/35s and ten J/109s.

The 37-boat J/22 class will be the largest in Annapolis. Expect a good battle between Todd Hiller's LEADING EDGE and Travis Odenbach's INSTIGATOR teams; Hiller and Odenbach finished third and fourth, respectively, in Charleston.  However, some additional hot sailors locally and from the Newport contingent will certainly be factors on the leader-board, including Tim Healey's SAILORS FOR THE SEA from Newport, RI, a past J/24 and J/22 champion; Carol Cronin sailing HPS, a past Women's keelboat champion from Jamestown, RI; Allen "Albie" Terhune from Arnold, MD; Kevin Doyle and Victor Snyder on MO'MONEY from Youngstown, NY; and Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY from Annapolis, MD.  Shaking off some ice and rust from the Great White North will be the long-distance travelers from Toronto, ONT, Stu Lawrie on CATCH 22.

Of the 29 teams registered for the J/80 division, 12 competed at CRW, including top-five skippers Kerry Klingler from Larchmont, NY; Will Welles from Newport, RI on RASCAL; Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, Texas on TIAMO; Thomas Klok and Will Crump on GULDFAXE from Copenhagen, Denmark and Annapolis, MD; and John White from Annapolis, MD. However, upping the ante considerably will be the presence of past World and Key West Champion Glenn Darden from Ft Worth, TX sailing LE TIGRE, fresh off the Texas J/80 Circuit.

In the 13-boat J/24 division, expect Chris Jankowski's STREET LEGAL crew to be hot coming off a second-place finish last weekend.  But, giving them a serious run for the money will be Mark Hillman sailing WIP and class centenarian Tony Parker on BANGOR PACKET (showing the kids again how to get it done!), amongst others.

Within the J/105 fleet will be several strong teams that will all factor during the races and some of whom will be on the leader board at the conclusion of racing on Sunday.  Amongst those teams will be several top Annapolis J/105 sailors like Peter McChesney sailing THE MYSTERY MACHINE, Carl and Scott Gitchell steering TENACIOUS, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY, Chris and Carolyn Groobey on JAVA and Andy Kennedy on BAT IV.  Solid out-of-town teams that also had success in regional and National J/105 events include Jim Rathbun on HEY JUDE from Toronto, ONT and John Gottwald racing EAGLES WINGS from Chicago, IL.

The J/109 teams are all looking forward to another competitive, but fun, regatta.  Said Steve McManus on SAYKADOO, "Bill Sweetser is a great guy, and his boat RUSH is the top boat in our fleet. He is also very understated. At any rate, Bill is hosting a party at his home in Annapolis for the J/109 crews on the Saturday evening.  Last year, all the skippers and crew were there!!"  Say no more, these guys know how to have a good time!  Two good out-of-town teams joining the fun will be Craig Wright's AFTERTHOUGHT from Raleigh, NC and Adrian Begley's MAD DOGS from Atlantic Highlands, NJ.

The J/35s have several familiar faces showing up at the OK Corral to determine who's going to win the gun-fight.  Amongst them are names like AUNT JEAN sailed by Jim Sagerholm from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, Peter Scheidt's MAGGIE and Chuck Kohlerman's MEDICINE MAN.

Big brother of J/24 lives!  As #2 in the J family of boats, the J/30s continue to enjoy a renaissance and this year is proving to be one of the strongest J/30 one-design class reunions post last year's well-attended J/30 Nationals in Marblehead, MA.  With fourteen J/30s on the line, there will be some strong competition.  As in last year's NOOD and Annapolis Race Week, amongst the leaders will be Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello on BEPOP; Larry Christy's BIG KAHUNA team; Ron Anderson sailing INSATIABLE, Bob Putnam skippering BETTER MOUSETRAP and George Watson racing AVITA.  Thanks for Mike Lovett/ Sailing World for contributing to this story.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes Photography- http://www.timwilkes.com  For more Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Annapolis sailing information.   

J's Enjoy Spring Sailing Fling in Charleston

J/122 GAMBLER & J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN Triumph, J/111 2nd
(Charleston, SC- Apr 14-17) - Springtime in Charleston is one of the more perfect places to spend the spring season and nature smiles especially fondly on Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week every year. For local Charleston resident and J/22 competitor, Greg Fisher, it's all about the community. The multiple world champion and former sail designer recently left the sailmaking industry to accept the position as Director of Sailing for the College Of Charleston. "The amazing thing about Charleston sailors is how they come together as a community for important events," Fisher said. "Hundreds of passionate sailors and their families get together to support Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, Charleston Community Sailing and the College, and it really feels like you're part of a big family when you're with them."

While the rest of America was fretting about tax filing deadlines, Charleston Harbor gave sailors a tax day gift - nearly perfect weather for sailboat racing on Friday. "I don't think I've ever had a day with such perfect sailing weather," said a competitor on the offshore PHRF course. "We had tight racing with 15-18 knots out of the East - perfect wind, perfect waves, and warm sunshine all day."

Racing offshore on the north/south courses were the big boats.  The new J/111 VELOCITY finished the day in fourth in a very competitive PHRF B Class with a 3-4-4 record. "This was the boat's first day of racing ever, and we're having a good time figuring her out," explained trimmer Dave Malkin of Annapolis. "We're definitely looking forward to even more breeze tomorrow." Kemah, TX J/122 owner Doug Shaffer leads the class with just four points in three races aboard GAMBLER, getting a 1-1-2 score.  In second was yet another J/122, Robin Team's TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC with a 4-2-1 record, getting stronger every race as their team dials it in to be a class leader.  Having a tough time against their stablemates were the two J/120s, John Keenan's ILLYRIA and Rick Moore's MOOSE DOWN, finishing further down the ladder.

In PHRF A, the J/124 WICKED sailed by Doug Curtiss and crew from Branford, CT lay in a three-way tie for second with a 2-3-4 score.  Just behind them were the two J/130s, David Hackney's SUGAR MAGNOLIA and Noel Sterret's SOLARUS.

In PHRF C were the 35 footers-, including the J/35, J/109 and three J/105s.  After the end of a glorious day of racing, the J/35 ARROW sailed by Willy Schwenzfeier from Charleston, SC sailed a solid 4-5-6 to lie 4th for the day.  Ric Campeau's J/109 HOODOO had some flashes of brilliance but couldn't put it all together, ending up with a 7-6-9 for 6th.

Over in PHRF D, a real fight was taking  place for the top three positions on the podium.  Leading the charge was the masthead/outboard J/29 FOR SAIL skippered by Jim Mackevich from Edison, NJ with a 4-2-1 record for 7 pts.  Just behind them by one point was Steve Thurston sailing MIGHTY PUFFIN, another masthead/outboard J/29, sailing to a 2-1-5 record for 8 pts.  Just off the pace was Dave Pritchard's J/92 AMIGOS sailing to a 7-4-3 tally.

On the inshore one-design courses, the J/22s, J/24s and J/80s were having a great day sailing, with all three classes getting in four races.  Sailing on the new Course "0", the J/22s and J/24s were sailing in the easterly breeze with the windward mark set about 85 degrees from the start line.  While the first race was affected by the strong ebb current flowing out of the harbor, after 12:18pm the next three races were fought in a building flood current.  If you haven't heard about it before, there's no question that current is a factor in setting your course strategies and tactics, on some courses more important than others.  For the J/24s and J/22s, the first beats were influenced by the presence of the giant sand spit called Shutes Folly Island with a little fort at the SE end of it- Castle Pinckney.  The combination of less adverse current near the island and the puffs backing left most of the afternoon meant the fleet had to play middle left nearly all day.  At the end of the day, it was pretty clear the top three in the very competitive 25 boat J/24 class traded places taking most of the podium finishes.  Leading the charge was past J/24 Champion Mike Ingham, from Rochester, NY, who had the wind and current scenario wired, sailing to a very consistent 1-3-1-2 record for 7 pts.  Sailing STREET LEGAL into second for the day was Chris Jankowski from Richmond, VA with a 3-2-2-3 tally for 10 pts.  And getting stronger by the race was John Surguy's team on VANISHING ACT from Marlboro, NJ, sailing to a 4-4-3-1 scoreline for 12 pts to secure third place for the day.

The J/22s had a very strong sixteen boat fleet and the competition for the top spots was going to be tough with some excellent teams fielded not only from local Charleston sailors, but also from very strong J/22 one-design class fleets in both Rochester, NY and Annapolis, MD.  After the first two races, it was obvious that a near match-race was forming for the top spots between Chris Doyle sailing SOLID LAYER from Rochester, NY and Greg Fisher from Charleston, SC.  After the first two races, Chris had a 1-2 and Greg had a 2-1.  As the afternoon wore on, Chris and his SOLID LAYER crew made their move and established primal supremacy in the J/22 fleet, getting two more bullets to finish the day with a 1-2-1-1 for 5 pts.  Greg's team sailed well to finish the day with a 2-1-3-3 tally for 9 pts.  Behind them was another match race shaping up between Todd Hiller from Annapolis, MD sailing LEADING EDGE and Travis Odenbach from Rochester, NY sailing INSTIGATOR.  This duel ended up tied for the day with Todd scoring a 3-3-2-6 and Travis with a 4-4-4-2, the tiebreaker going in favor of Todd.

A great turnout of twenty-six boats meant the J/80s were going to have a good series with some very competitive teams attending.  Plus, a fun, fast course with less than 1.0 nm windward-leeward legs meant that skippers, tacticians and crews would be busy.  Unlike the J/22 and J/24 Course "0", the J/80s were sailing on Course 1 along the southern part of the harbor.  The PRO set the windward mark at about 90 degrees and basically never changed it all day.  The winds built from 6-12 to 9-17 knots from the East by mid-afternoon, making for epic, brilliant sailing, perhaps the best course for sailing in the entire regatta (based on hearsay at the Goslings tent afterwards!).  Like the Course "0" sailors, the J/80s saw the winds oscillate significantly, but the right side of the course along shore only paid off twice on 8 total windward legs over 4 races! Fast out of the blocks was Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, TX sailing TIAMO to a 1-1-4-6 score for the day for 12 pts.  However, the team of Henry Brauer and Will Welles sailing RASCAL from Marblehead, MA/ Newport, RI sailed consistently well, never finishing out of the top three, rounding either the first or second mark in first place in every race, to get a 3-3-1-2 record to end the day with 9 pts to be at the top of the leader-board.  In third due to a tie-breaker with Bruno's TIAMO team was Kerry Klingler's team from Larchmont, NY sailing to a 5-2-2-3 for 12 pts.

The talk of the dock after the spectacular day's racing was whether or not the dire predictions for Saturday's sailing would come true- a weather forecast that included no less than trailer-destroying tornados, frightening line squalls, severe ginormous thunderstorms, massive car-destroying hail stones, monster micro-burst puffs and gale-force wind conditions. If Friday's conditions provided a chance for racers to knock the rust off, Saturday would undoubtedly separate the top teams from those who could use a bit more practice-- or the crazed from the simply normal.  As Saturday dawned, it was clear the prognosticators were correct, the forecast was more accurate than most had hoped; in fact, the storm front killed nearly 50 people in tornados less than 100 miles away.  As a result, Regatta Chairman Randy Draftz was put in the unenviable position of having to cancel racing for the first time ever in the race week's history.  Nevertheless, many were sanguine about the dilemma and felt it was a good call.

Multiple J/24 World Champion Anthony Kotoun of Newport, RI was one of them, and the Virgin Islands native who has sailed the past four Charleston Race Weeks, shared his thoughts on Charleston Race Week: "I just love this regatta," he said. When pressed on why, he mentioned the parallels with Caribbean regattas. "I just came back from sailing in St. Thomas at the Rolex Regatta, the BVI at the Spring Regatta and St. Maarten for the Heineken event, and Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week is the only event in the country that's got a flavor like those." Kotoun cited "great breezes, beautiful surroundings, and the regatta village here on the beach that's really something you don't see anywhere but the Caribbean."

An earlier start time for Sunday saw frantic preparations as all boats were seen pulling piles of extra sails and gear off their boats to lighten their loads for the expected forecast of a dying 5-10 kt wind. The offshore courses saw sufficient sailing breeze through most of the day, with the first race run under very light northerly conditions and the final race in a moderate Charleston sea breeze of 10 knots.

The biggest boats at the event had an exciting, three-way battle for the lead in PHRF A, with the J/124 WICKED ending up third after the smoke cleared.  WICKED missed 2nd by 1 pt and first by just 2 pts, a shift here, a puff there and the tables would have turned completely in their favor.

In PHRF B, Doug Shaffer's J/122 GAMBLER simply sailed away, leaving the fleet in their rear-view mirror, winning the last two races to win by 9 pts over the J/111 VELOCITY.  After their Friday "practice race" day, the gang on the J/111 VELOCITY got their act together, retuned the rig, trimmed the sails faster, avoided some big holes and even led the entire fleet around one leeward gate to secure 2nd overall with a solid 2-2 showing on the last day for a total of 15 pts.  Third was Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK, sailing an uncharacteristic 7-3 to finish 3rd with 17 pts.

The mighty struggle between the 30 footers in PHRF D was finally settled in favor of Steve Thurston's well-sailed J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN, getting a 4-1 to win with 13 pts.  Jim's J/29 FOR SAIL had a slow day, getting a 7-5 to drop to 4th after leading on the first day.  Dave Pritchard's J/92 AMIGOS got their mojo on and managed to peel off a 1-2 for the best record on Sunday to get 3rd overall with 17 pts.  The Palmetto Cup, which is awarded each year to the best boat competing in the PHRF (handicap rating) classes, went to Steve Thurston and his crew from Bristol, RI racing aboard the mighty yacht  MIGHTY PUFFIN!

Inshore, conditions were more fickle and no races were completed on the J/24 and J/22 race course, with only one completed on the J/80 course.  Former North American and National J/24 Champion Mike Ingham was disappointed that his class didn't see enough wind for a final race today, though he was happy to take the victory in the most competitive J/24 fleet that Charleston has seen in several years. "We last sailed here for our National Championship about six years ago, and it's just as great as I remembered," said Mike. "On Friday, we got four solid races in, and just kept our noses clean and tried to sail smart. It worked."

For the J/80s, it was a beautiful, but disappointing day.  The one and only race was punctuated by a series of events for the leaders and the entire fleet that could best be described as "unfortunate".  The PRO elected to start the race in a rapidly dying breeze from the NW (it was forecast to die by 11am) at precisely 10:40 am after it was obvious the Viper 640 fleet that started at 10:35am were struggling getting to the first windward mark.  Toss in a dying breeze with massive holes, 40 degree shifts and a full-moon ebb tide flowing at 3 knots and what do you get?  A very ugly picture that many sailing in England's Solent are all too familiar with.  Out of 26 boats only 5 managed to finish the race (exactly 1/5th of the fleet) and the rest scored TLE (time limit expired!).  Not exactly a "fair or reasonable" race for all involved, e.g. an awfully expensive one-day regatta!  Nevertheless, not often you see top three finishers scored with TLE's as counters!  Kerry Klingler's team avoided the mishaps and secured a finish to win with 15 pts with a 5-2-2-3-3 score.  In finishing second, the Brauer/Welles team got caught by the finish line buoy, literally, and instead of winning the regatta was forced to take a TLE, scoring 3-3-1-2-TLE for 16 pts.  Third was Bruno's TIAMO team who seemingly took an involuntary tour of Fort Sumter over on another course as they were getting flushed out to sea, finishing with a 1-1-4-6-TLE for 19 pts.  Thanks to Mike Lovett's contributions from his Sailing World Forum report (http://www.sailingworld.com).

Sailing Photo Credits:
Meredith Block- www.blocksail.com
Priscilla Parker- www.priscillaparker.com

VIdeo coverage:
  - OTWA  Sailing Coverage- Day One
  - T2P.TV- Day One Summary

For more Charleston Race Week sailing information   

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.   

J/111 @ Charleston Race Week

(Charleston, SC)- The J/111 VELOCITY sailed by Wayne Jackson and crew from the Chesapeake Bay will be racing their new 111 for its first test during Charleston Race Week sailing in PHRF B class.  Please stop buy and say hello to the boys and take a look at the boat- they'll be on Dock C in Slip # 1  right next to the bulkhead at Patriot’s Point.  They'll be having a small "greet and meet" on Saturday evening after the races.

For the rest of the 89 J's sailing (the largest brand represented at 1/3 of the entire fleet of 270), they will be divided into one-design and handicap PHRF fleets.  PHRF A class has two J/130s sailing, including Noel Sterrett's SOLARUS from Hanahan, SC and David Hackney's SUGAR MAGNOLIA from Folly Beach, SC.  Also racing with them will be Doug Curtiss' J/124 WICKED from Branford, CT just up from Florida after sailing at Key West Race Week.

PHRF B is shaping up to be one of the most competitive offshore PHRF classes with 5 of the 7 entries being 36-41 foot J's- J/111, J/120s, J/122s.  The J/111 VELOCITY will have to work hard to stay in the hunt against this tough group of hombres.  The two J/120s, local fleet champion John Keenan's ILLYRIA from Mt Pleasant, SC and Rick Moore's MOOSE DOWN from Summerville, SC know the local waters well and given the right conditions will be surely be in the hunt.  The two J/122s will be amongst the leaders as well, both strong sailing programs with great teams aboard.  Doug Shaffer's GAMBLER from Kemah, TX is a past J/122 North American Champion and Robin Team's TEAMWORK has won the Ft Lauderdale-Key West Race and also a top three finisher at Key West Race Week.

PHRF C class includes the J/35 ARROW sailed by Willy Schwenzfeier from Charleston, SC, the J/109 HOODOO sailed by Rick Campeau from Summerville, SC and three J/105s- Joe Pitcavage's BIG BOOTY, Joe Highsmith's DEAD ON ARRIVAL from Blufton, SC, and Bill Bremer's HIGH VISIBILITY from Savannah, GA.  Like their bigger sisters in PHRF B, this class will also see some very competitive sailing amongst the largely 35-foot class of boats.

PHRF D promises to be a donnybrook between the fast 30 foot J's.  The three J/29s, including Jim Mackevich's FOR SAIL from Edison, NJ, the infamous Esposito brothers (John and Tony) from Mohegan Lake, NY learning to sail HUSTLER all over again after mothballing it (was going too fast, we heard, and was in danger of disintegrating from harmonic vibrations at the speed of light) and arch-nemesis Steve Thurston from Bristol, RI on the MIGHTY PUFFIN--- this will be an interesting group to watch, all well-sailed boats and all masthead/outboard 29s, the fastest version of them ever made. Giving these 29s a run for the money will surely be Mr GILL North American himself, David Pritchard on AMIGOS racing his J/92 from Buford, GA-- a very fast team that gets lots of practice up on Lake Lanier (when there's water in it!).

In the J one-design world there are seventy-two boats competing from J/22s to J/24s to J/80s a big jump up from last year's event, particularly for the J/24s and J/80s.  The seventeen J/22s are led by past World Champion Greg Fisher now living in Mt Pleasant, SC and coaching College of Charleston sailing team, Chris Doyle from Youngstown, NY (recent Midwinter Champion) and champion woman sailor Cory Sertl from Rochester, NY practicing for the upcoming Rolex Women's Worlds held later this year in Rochester.  The twenty-seven J/24s are led by very strong local teams from Charleston and class champions like Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY.

The new course for the J/22 and J/24 classes is laid out close to downtown Charleston’s waterfront. Organizers expect it to provide exciting viewing from the Battery and Waterfront parks for locals and tourists alike, who “should be able to see and hear tons of racing action, almost as if they were on the boats,” said James Island High School sailing coach Ryan Hamm.

The largest contingent of J one-designs are the J/80s.  Twenty-eight J/80s will be led by top teams like Al Terhune from Annapolis, MD, Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, TX, Tom Klok from Copenhagen, Denmark (see here flying downwind at 20 knots off Newport, RI in the 2010 Worlds), Mike Sudofsky from Marion, MA, Chris Bulger from Brookline, MA and past World Champion Kerry Klingler from Larchmont, NY.  Amongst the luminaries in the class will be Don Trask from Mooresville, NC, renowned for starting the Laser and J/24 franchise on the West Coast of America; and Kristen Robinson from Annapolis, MD, the current J/80 class Treasurer and Chris Johnson also from Annapolis, the current J/80 Class President.

Sailing Photo Credits:
Paul Todd/ Outside Images New Zealand
Tim Wilkes/ Tim Wilkes Photography
For more Charleston Race Week sailing information.   

J/35 Wins MAYOR'S CUP In Boston

(Boston, MA)- Jeff Kent sailed his Class D J/35 BLACK SEAL to an impressive 4:08 overall win over Ralph DiMattia’s NM 40 Shamrock Sensation in the non-spinnaker fleet of the Boston Harbor Islands Regatta to win the Mayor’s Cup for best performance. This is a popular 12 mile, figure-8 pursuit race around the islands that benefits the Harbor Islands National Park. 98 boats participated in what can be a model for cities around the country. The idea is to get everyone out! Half the boats don’t have current PHRF certificates and there was everything from a Cape Dory Typhoon rating PHRF 294 to the NM 70 Denali at -69.

The event was sailed in a 10-20 knot, warm, dry offshore southwesterly breeze.  Chris Zibailo’s  J/109 SUPERSTITION was the overall winner of the spinnaker fleet, nipping Barry Bessette’s well-sailed Class C S2 7.9 Club Car from Hyannis by only 2 feet at the finish. The S2 had started 20 minutes earlier.  Other class winners were: (B) Bob Cunningham’s J/30 RUFFIAN (E) Richard Tubman’s O’Day 31 Charisma; (F) Ralph Vinciguerra’s Pearson Vanguard Blue Angel; (G) Ed Marcus in a Courageous Sailing Club J/22. Constitution YC won the Yacht Club Challenge.  Top Female Trophies went to Elizabeth Lamb in her Aphrodite 101 and to Linda Hoskings in her C&C 40.  Top Masters were Chet Osborne in a Melges 24 and Ralph DiMattia in his NM 40.  The Jody Grauls won the all-family crew award in a Sabre 36.  Top community sailing trophy when to the Boston Sailing Center.  Full story and sailing results of Boston Mayor's Cup Regatta.

  

J/Fest Annapolis Race Week!

RUM PUPPY Wins J/105s

(Annapolis, MD)-  Annapolis Race Week has been held on the Chesapeake Bay over Labor Day weekend for more than four decades. Organized by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association, the popular three-day regatta has become a local tradition - albeit solely within the local sailing community. “People around Annapolis that didn’t own a sailboat or weren’t competing had no idea when Annapolis Race Week was held or what it was all about,” said Bobby Frey, former CBYRA president and on-water regatta chairman.

CBYRA officials believe the 44th annual Annapolis Race Week will greatly increase awareness among average Annapolitans that a major sailing event is being held in their midst. Headquarters for Annapolis Race Week have been moved to City Dock and that increased visibility should benefit both the city and the regatta. “For the first time in its history, Annapolis Race Week is really going to be part of Annapolis,” Frey said. “If you go to the race weeks in Key West and Charleston, the city is a big part of the charm. I think this move has the potential to be a really positive thing for both the city of Annapolis and CBYRA.”

Annapolis Race Week has always been a top-notch operation on the water and this year will be no different with upwards of 160 boats expected to compete in 18 classes. There was tremendous participation from the J contingent with solid turnouts from the J/105, J/80, J/24, J/35 and J/30 fleets!  Nearly half the fleet!

In the fifteen boat J/105 fleet, Jack Biddle's RUM PUPPY simply took off and seemingly never looked back, rattling off a 1-2-1-4-1-2-3 series to win by 11 points over the second place team of Carl and Scott Gitchell sailing TENACIOUS.   Third was Chris and Carolyn Groobey's JAVA just five points back.  Seems that a bit of practice aboard the J/100 TERN in the Downeast Race Week cruise helped Chris' speed on downwind gybing angles!

The J/35s had a great turnout with twelves boats from all over Chesapeake Bay.  Bill Wildner's MR BILL'S WILD RIDE also dominated their class, winning a few too many races and getting a fantastic record of 3-1-4-1-1-1-1 to win by 16 points!  Ouch, hurts to get spanked soooo bad!  In second was Peter Scheidt on MAGGIE and in third was Charles Kohlerman on MEDICINE MAN.

The J/80s were in great competitive form amongst their seventeen boat fleet.  A number of teams attending the J/80 North Americans in Buzzards Bay and also headed to the J/80 Worlds were using it as a tune-up regatta.  Ultimately, Allen Terhune on 221 won by an astonishing 25 points over his fellow competitors!  A sign of things to come in the NA's and Worlds?  We wonder.  Allen had seven firsts and a fifth.  OMG, perhaps this was a worse spanking than competitors received in the J/35 class?  Lessons learned perhaps for some.  Lying in a tie for second was Dan Witting on EMOTIONAL RESCUE and John White on 1162, with the tie broken in favor of EMOTIONAL RESCUE.

The seven boat J/24 fleet was incredibly competitive amongst the top three.  Just two points separated all of them at the conclusion of the regatta.  Just squeezing ahead of the cluster was Pete Kassal on SPACEMAN SPIFF, second was MILLENIUM FALCON and third was Brent Ellwood's SANE ASYLUM. 

Incredibly (and kudos to them all), the J/30 class had a fantastic turnout with nine boats going for the gold.  Gotta love these passionate owners having a ball with "son of J/24" (the J/30 was the 2nd boat J/Boats ever built).  So many of these boats have been reconditioned, many of them look nearly new!  Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello on BEPOP bopped everyone over their heads and took the gold with four firsts in their score, winning by ten points.  The battle for second was going to the final heat between four boats and the last two races proved to be a topsy-turvy affair.  Falling just shy of throwing it all away and hanging in there by their chinny-chin-chin was Larry Christy's BIG KAHUNA team getting second with a thundering 6-5 for their last two races.  Yikes.  Breathing down their necks were Ron Anderson sailing INSATIABLE, Bob Putnam skippering BETTER MOUSETRAP and George Watson racing AVITA, finishing 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively.  For more Annapolis Race Week sailing results

Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wilkes

  

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.
  

A Jubilee J/Fest Northwest

J/105 Wins Top Performance Award

(Seattle, WA- Jun 19-20)- A gathering of 30 J's including one-design fleets for J/109s, J/35s, J/105s and J/30s enjoyed eight races over two days of competition in the waters off Shilshole Bay Marina, sponsored by Seattle J-Boats dealer Sailboats Northwest, with Corinthian Yacht Club running the racing and hosting post-race parties.

For the J/109 class, the Dack/ Nordquist team sailed J/TRIPPER to a 1-1-3-1-2-1-2-1 record for twelves points.   The Greene team on IT'S ONLY ROCK & ROLL finished second with a 2-4-1-4-1-4-1-2 record and third was Woodfield's SHADA with a 3-3-5-3-5-3-3-3 tally.

The J/35s were won by the Whitfield/ Chatham team on JABIRU.  Second was White sailing GRACE E and third was the Ellingsen's BERGEN VIKING.

Erik Kirsten's team sailing JUBILEE were not only winners of the J/105 class, but got Top Performance Award for best regatta in biggest fleet at the event.  Second was Petersen racing LAST TANGO and third was Pinkham's USAWI.

The J/30s had a nice turnout with the Gardner/ Adair team winning with seven firsts on ROUNDER.  Battling for second and third were CELEBRATION and OUTLAW. At the end of their epic battle for J/30 supremacy in the greater NW, the Storm/ Gossett team racing OUTLAW just lost out in the last two races to Bottles' CELEBRATION.

The PHRF handicap fleet had quite a mix of boats and a donnybrook of a fight for the silver/ bronze positions on the podium.  No matter what anyone could do, the Moynihan/ Conway team raced WINGS to a dominant first place getting eight straight firsts!  Playing "tourists"/ bridesmaids to this amazing performance were Daniel's TOURIST and Sawyer's FEARFUL SYMMETRY.  Finishing in a tie with twenty-one points each, the tie-breaker went in favor of TOURIST with FEARFUL SYMMETRY finishing third- with an average of 2.5 each!

In the photo is the crew of CYC member Erik Kristen's J/105 Jubilee. From left are Joel Thornton, Jeff McLean, Matt Tookey, Bruce Sherman and Kristen. Kristen's wife, Steph, and children Mary and Tom sailed on Saturday.   For more J/Fest Northwest sailing information
  

J/105 CONVEXITY Wins Chicago SW NOOD

Siegal's LUCKY DUBIE 2 Dominates J/109s

(Chicago, IL)- A strong turnout of J one-design classes by the J/105s and J/109s assured some great racing.  The weather overlords even cooperated to supply some breeze but perhaps a few too many lightning bolts in occasional thunderstorms rolling in off the vast prairies just West of downtown Chicago.  On Day 1 of the Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD, the sailors had a little bit of everything. The first race on Circle B, the southern-most of the three circles finished in a steady, but fading, southeast breeze. That breeze all but vanished as PHRF 4, led by Robert Armstrong’s modified J/100 Good Girl, rounded the first windward mark in Circle C’s second race. Local J/Boat dealer Rich Stearns is sailing the new J/97 in that fleet. The 100-yard offset leg took him a few minutes to complete when the wind dropped to nothing. But the breeze returned and the J/97 showed some light-air legs on the run.  For the rest of the weekend, the RC PRO's were able to get in a good set of races, six each for the J/105 and J/109 classes.

In the sixteen boat J/105 class, local hero Don Wilson (Mr. Chicago Match Race Center) showed that he had not lost his touch racing J/105s and took CONVEXITY to a 6-1-1-1-1-5 finish to win the regatta by 11 points!  Dueling it our for second were Tom Petkus on VYTIS and Dorin Candea on MESSY JESSY.  Dorin pulled every trick in the book to overcome the steady sailing shown by Tom's experienced team, including winning the last race.  However, even a first place finish in Race 6 was not enough for Dorin's MESSY JESSY team to grab second place.  In the end, Tom's VYTIS sailed to a 3-3-2-6-5-7 finish to secure second and Dorin's MESSY JESSY started slow and finished strong with an 8-2-5-8-3-1 score.

A familiar face in the J/105 fleet, Len Siegal, jumped ship to race J/109s and took his LUCKY DUBIE 2 to a win in a very tightly contested series.   LUCKY DUBIE 2's scores of 2-2-1-1-3-1 were very consistent and dominant to win by 7 points.  Battling it out for second and third were Jack Toliver's VANDA III and David Gustman's NORTHSTAR.  The gloves were off going into the last race whomever beat who would grab the silver.  However, only three boats actually finished in the final  race #6 within the time limit, so five boats were scored with TLE's (Time Limit Expired)!  As a result, Jack's VANDA III finished second with a 1-1-3-5-2-TLE record tied with David's NORTHSTAR with a 4-3-2-2-1-TLE tally to finish third.

In the PHRF4 handicap classes, Richie Stearns reports- "The J/97 sailed great! I sailed a few races and the new owners of the J-111 sailed the others. The J/100 GOOD GIRL was untouchable and was well-sailed. We learned quite a bit about the J/97, the in-hualers work well on the boat. We were not sailing to polars downwind and that hurt. The weather was mixed anywhere from 3 to 15 knots and the boat is a pleasure to sail in all winds. The real great thing about the boat is how easy it is to sail.  We were third in section, the J/100 GOOD GIRL was first, fifth was the J/29 RELENTLESS and sixth was the J/27 RELENTLESS!  In the Level 35 Class, the J/35s swept and went 1-2-3 with William Newman's AFTERSHOCK running the table winning with ten points, Larry Taunt's BAD DOG in second and Bruce Metcalf's BOZO'S CIRCUS in third."   For more Sperry Top-Sider Chicago SW NOOD sailing information.
  

New Orleans Hosts GYA Women's Champs

(New Orleans, LA- May 22)-  The Gulf Yachting Association, in collaboration with host club New Orleans YC, hosted the GYA Women's Championships recently using a three race format with no throw outs.  The local J contingent showed up in force with five Js sailing- a J/22, J/24, two J/30s and a J/35.  The gals apparently had a wonderful time racing and produced some cute videos for the event.  Please see the links below.

After the smoke cleared and gloves put safely away, it was pretty clear that Debbie Grimm's capable team racing the J/35 FOOTLOOSE TOO were not to be stopped, taking three firsts to dominate the event.  Louise Bienvenu sailed their J/22 LOLA into second with a 3-2-2 record followed by Cathy Cromartie in third place sailing the J/24 IRISH NINJA to a 2-4-4 tally.  Of note, recent J/30 one-design class leader JALAPENO was sailed into fourth by Elaine Boos and fellow J/30 TOY BOX was skippered by Margie Offan, finishing sixth.

Watch the YouTube video- "A Few Good Women"
Part I- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZ4Y9dU1us
Part II- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x-Kl94ICmI
  

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