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

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.

ANOTHER TOY Wins J/24 Tasmanians

(Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)- Held on Sunday 18th March and sailed in what many in the fleet refer to as “J Weather” the 2012 Tasmanian titles where hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in that wonderful city called Hobart.  Five boats contested 4 out of the 5 scheduled races held in near perfect conditions on the River Derwent featuring bright sunshine and 5-10 knot winds.

Looking to defend their 2011 title, the crew of ANOTHER TOY where early favourites and proved to be well deserving of this status winning all 4 races to retain their title.  Owner Greg Rowlings and regatta helm Peter Pangas were pleased with their victory after campaigning the boat strongly all summer which also included winning the Royal Hobart Regatta Lipton Trophy, The Showdown Regatta and finishing equal first (second on count back) for the 2012 Crown Series Regatta.

Having sailed close to ANOTHER TOY all day, Peter Bingham’s STREET CAR finished in 2nd place, having finished 2nd in 3 of out 4 races. Craig Squires' DIVINE MADNESS was a constant performer and finished a well deserved 3rd place.

The newly renamed WHISTLER J (formally DRUMBEAT) was the surprise of the day picking up a second place in race 3 after a near perfect start that saw them lead the fleet approaching the top mark. Helm Jory Linscott, whose star studded crew had never sailed the J/24 before, looked very excited when crossing the line.

Newcomer to the class Martin Pieterse, sailing STORM PETREL with James Anderson at the helm rounded out the fleet and showed moments of speed and close racing, picking up two 4th spot finishes. A pleasing result for a boat and crew that only came together a week prior to the regatta.

The Tasmanian Association would like to thank the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania for hosting the regatta and their continued support for J/24 sailing in the state.  Thanks for the contribution from Jamie Lawrence and Greg Rowlings.    For more J/24 Tasmania (Australia) sailing information

J/24 Australia Nationals Sailing Video

(Adelaide, South Australia)- Joe Pearson from MAKE MY JAY was filming and taking photos while sailing valiantly in the J/24 2012 Nationals in Adelaide.

He published this compilation on YouTube and I took the liberty of putting it on our J/24 site for everyone to see--  http://www.youtube.com/embed/uiHaBanPGpA?rel=0

A J/24 Mastman Confessional- Dave Reed- Sailing World

When a longtime J/24 bowman gets put into mastman duty with a pro team, he gains new insight—and respect—for his neighbor on the rail.  Read more about SAILIG WORLD's Editor, Dave Reed, experience sailing in the recent J/24 Copa Mexico in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

"I’ve been racing on the same J/24 in Newport, RI, with the same fantastic skipper and core team for nearly 30 years. By nature of me being the whippersnapper teen when I joined the team way back when, I guess I’ve always been relegated to the bow. It’s my domain, a position I’ll relinquish only when they take the spinnaker pole from my cold, dead hands.

The funny thing about my career in the J/24 class, however, is that as long as I can remember, I’ve never actually sailed on anyone else’s J/24 for a full regatta.

It’s always been the same boat, same job. Forever.

You’d think, after all these years, I’d have a pretty good handle on what was going on behind me on our boat, one rail seat aft at the mastman’s position, but not really. I guess I’ve always been too busy looking forward, focusing on my own responsibilities on the foredeck. On our boat, this second-spot back is where we usually put newcomers and visitors. You know…where they can “contribute” by adjusting the twings while not really getting in the way.

After my experience last week at the Regata Copa Mexico, a must-do J/24 regatta in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico (just north of Puerto Vallarta), however, I’ve reconsidered the mastman cog in the J/24 crewing machine.

The thrown-together crew of which I was part of for this incredible regatta included Chris Snow, of North Sails San Diego, who, as a past national champion, was obviously most qualified to drive. Our talented trimmer was Rich Bowen, designer for North Sails. The tactical genius (and “funny stuff”) would come from the mind of Chuck Allen, who completed the North Sails back-of-the-bus brain trust. That left the front-half of the boat to me, and George Witter, pitman for the 2010 J/24 national champions 3 Big Dogs.

When I learned I’d been slotted into the mastman position, with George on the bow, I was sort of bummed and anxious.

“I’d be better off on the bow,” I thought to myself. “That’s what I know best . . . Maybe I should propose George and I switch.”

But the team roles had been professionally predetermined, so as we sailed out for our first day of practice, I started to mentally go through the mastman’s job list for every maneuver.

This is when I realized I wasn’t exactly sure what the mastman does on other J/24s other than pull the twings and move from side-to-side. On our boat back home, the jobs in the middle of the boat are, for the most part, divided as such: our genoa trimmer trims upwind, then moves to the middle of the boat downwind. The mastman, who helps call puffs upwind, slides to the cockpit to trim the spinnaker. Our tactician handles the twings during the jibes works the pit, and the bowman, of course, handles everything forward of the mast, including halyards. This is, generally, how we’ve always done things.

But after an educational week in the mastman’s seat—a position, I grew to love—I’m convinced we need to change the way we do things back home. And, strangely enough, it all boils down to empowering our mastman. Here’s how things were divided on Bogus:

The trimmer trimmed the jib and the spinnaker. He never stepped forward of the companionway, which eliminated any position shuffles.

The tactician focused on tactics, fleet management, boat balance (weight fore and aft, side to side), parked in the companionway downwind, rolled the boat from the inside, and stuffed the kite in the takedown.

As the mastman, I looked up the course in the pre-start, looking for wind and surprises, called out time aloud in the pre-start, counting every second after 30 seconds. Upwind and down, I called puffs, lulls, and waves and aggressively rolled the boat in tacks and jibes, hiking off the twing line on the jibe roll. I served as human guy and then gathered the foot of the spinnaker before hitting the rail. And when the manure was hitting the fan on the foredeck, I was on halyard backup. I reset sail controls (outhaul and vang) before and after the mark roundings, and moved my weight all over the place to help balance the boat. Now that’s a lot more than just pulling the twings and staying out of the way."  For more SAILING WORLD Mastman sailing experience perspectives.

PACEMAKER Wins J/24 Australian Nationals

(Adelaide, South Australia)-  In a nail biting finish that went down to the last race finish positions, Dave Suda and his crew of Herschel, Luke, Sam and Rachel sailing PACEMAKER won a well deserved 2012 National Championship by one point from Ben Lamb sailing Alyn Stevenson’s FUN 2 with last years Nationals winner Sean Kirkjian sailing SAILPAC.

In PHS the winner was local sailor Jamie Goode from fellow SA sailor and national Measurer Peter Stevens and Dave Suda. As customary the the PHS placings can’t be won by OD place getters so third on PHS goes to Melbourne sailor and previous Nationals winner (10 years ago) Hugo Ottaway.

The racing was keen and extremely competitive for the fifteen boats that showed up to establish the top J/24 teams in Australia.  The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia did a fabulous job running the event.  In glorious sunshine and shirts and short weather with a calm 8 knots building to a 15 knot sea breeze the fleet enjoyed superb sailing conditions.  Four races were sailed on the first day and another four are planned for the second day with two on Monday.

On day one, the team on FUN 2 sailed by Ben Lamb and Arthur Crothers had a bonanza day, starting out "slowly" with a 6th, then finishing with a flourish of three 1sts for a total of 9 points. Sean Kirkjian on SAILPAC also from NSW was lying second with a 2-6-2-4 and Adam Evans on SDM from Victoria was in third with a steady 3-4-4-3.

Dave Suda in his new-ish Italian boat PACEMAKER cleared out in the first race to win by nearly half a leg and must have been feeling pretty good, but by the end of the day with two OCS calls was back down the results. Hugo Ottaway on BRUSCHETTA VI was also having an average series so far and dropped one of his crew over the side in the last race to add a less than perfect touch. However, the Italian boats seem to have good speed as shown by both Dave and Ben.  Back in the pack, chomping on the heels of the winners, was a very close group of very good sailors. The racing is extremely tight and one small mistake takes you to the back of the pack very quickly.

By the second day, racing had gotten a lot tighter, with the fleet now counting 7 of 8 races (including a drop race).  At this point, Dave Suda on PACEMAKER went on a tear with two 1sts and four 2nds to get back on track and was now tied on points with Ben Lamb on FUN 2 with 10 pts apiece.  Third was Adam's SDM with 17 pts, fourth was Sean's SAILPAC with 18 pts and fifth was Steve Girdis' CONVICTS REVENGE with 27 pts.

It was pretty the regatta was going right down to the wire on the last day of racing between the two teams tied on points for the lead- PACEMAKER and FUN 2.  In the end, FUN 2's 5-1 was no match for PACEMAKER's consistent 2-3, giving the match to Dave Suda's team by one point!  There was also a helluva match for third on the podium, with the nod going to Sean's SAILPAC team with Adam's SDM team getting fourth.  Rounding out the top five was Steve's CONVICTS REVENGE.  For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information

A Mexican Sailing Extravaganza

(Riviera Nayarit, Mexico)- For two-time Copa Mexico regatta participant, Chris Snow from North Sails San Diego, this past week of sailing provided him and his team a lot of fun memories, great racing and some great lessons on J/24 racing in general.  Here's an account of Chris's epic journey into parts unknown "south of the border":

"On my way home now from the 2012 Copa De Mexico regatta held this last week on Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. What week it was both on and off the water!

The Copa de Mexico is a two and half week long sailing extravaganza that combines three events. First is the finish of the 1200 mile long San Diego to Puerto Vallarta race. Second is the event J/24 event which I participated in which is a World Championship style event sailed over 5 days (10 races) on Banderas Bay. The third event is MEXORC which is a big boat event also over 5 days that  combines closed course racing and medium distance races around the bay.

The venue, Banderas Bay, is the largest bay in the world and combines stunning mountain backdrops with warm water and good wind. The event is staged from the new Marina Rivera Nayarit in a small village on the north side of the bay called La Cruz. All crews are housed at the Marival Resort a short bus ride away in Nuevo Vallarta which is large development of resorts with good security and all the amenities.

The event is heavily subsidized by the state of Nayarit, the Mexican federal government and the Mexican Tourism board. This helps to make it quite affordable for more crews, and creates a whole fleet of ambassadors for Mexico and the region. 52 J/24s participated in this edition with crews coming from the U.S., Sweden, Monaco, Italy, Chile, Germany, France, Brazil, and of course Mexico. Charter boats are provided for all out of country sailors.

I was fortunate to have a great crew (pictured here) who sailed with me for the week. We had a great time, made some great new friends and renewed friendships with many others. For the week I had doing bow, George Witter from Santa Barbara, CA. George normally sails with recent NA Champions THREE BIG DOGS. Doing  the mast, calling the wind and providing Spanish translation was Dave Reed from Newport, Rhode Island.  Dave is the editor of Sailing World and will hopefully be doing a feature story on the event.  Doing tactics and lightening the mood onboard was Chuck “El Chucko” Allen.  Rich Bowen trimmed sails and helped a lot with boat speed.

Sailing conditions for the regatta were varied from a full day of 18 plus knots on the practice day to races sailed in 5-6 knots-- Sunny skies and warm temps were the rule each day. Some of us put on spray tops but only very briefly.

With a large fleet, the starting line was quite long placing a real premium on starting at the correct end. With fairly shifty conditions it was important to be in phase right away with clear air, if you could do this big gains could be made if not it was very difficult to break out of the pack.

On board our boat our strategy was to be conservative, get good starts and let our speed work to our advantage over the long time.  My rusty starting skills were a challenge in the beginning of the regatta but got better as the event went on. Also we unfortunately were OCS on the “Z Flag” start which cost us a few extra unneeded points. In the end we were pleased to finish a solid third and look forward to the Spring and Summer season coming up.

Here are some thing I learned over the week that might help you in your J/24 Sailing:
- Always set the rig up for conditions at the start, don’t worry about the rest of the race speed off the line is essential
- When starting allow plenty of time coming back on port to find a hole. Keep going on port until you find one. Starting with a boat directly to leeward is practically impossible
- If in doubt set the boat up for the lulls
- In choppy conditions always sail the boat flat-- even if it feels slow-- The boat does not sideslip when flat.
- Downwind in choppy rolling seas spread crew weight as far as you can side to side. This helps a lot of stabilize the boat.
- If port tack jibe is favored and you are towards the front of the fleet be careful about jibing under all the starboard boats approaching the weather mark-- Better to go a short distance and jibe in clear air.
- At downwind gates-- If they are evenly favored go to one the one that will have less downwind traffic"
For more Mexican J/24 sailing information

BRUSCHETTA Two-Peats J/24 Copa Mexico

(Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)-  The second edition of the J/24 Copa Mexico Olympic Edition was yet another resounding success.  With fifty J/24s competing from over a dozen countries, the sailing was both competitive and a lot of fun for all those participating.  In fact, with the support of Mexico's Presidente Felipe Calderon helping to award special trophies and roll-out the "red carpet", the province of Riviera Nayarit, NEXTEL, DELL, MICROSOFT and others, it would be hard not to have fun in this extravaganza sailed on Bahia de Banderas on Mexico's "Riviera".

To say competition was strong would be an understatement.  With three multiple J/24 World Champions and North American Champions present, the top three boats would surely be no "push-overs" in the realm of international one-design competition.  As anticipated, the top five was made up of World Champions, NA Champions and Mexican Champions-- ouch, that racing must've been hot, hot, hot!  Winning his second Copa Mexico in a row was none other than 2010 J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil on his famous NEXTEL BRUSCHETTA.  Second was the previous year's 2009 J/24 World Champion Tim Healey from Newport, Rhode Island on 11TH HOUR RACING/ SAILORS FOR THE SEA.  Third was a J/24 North American and National Champion, Chris Snow from San Diego, California on his familiar blue boat BOGUS.  Fourth was past J/24 World Champion Mike Ingham from Rochester, New York on BLUE DEMON.  And, fifth was Mexican Champion Ken Porter on COMEX.  Incredibly, everyone in the top five won at least one race out of the total of ten races, including Robert Vernon on JOYITA from Chile.

The opening day of racing began to establish a pecking order very quickly for the top of the podium.  After just two races, Mauricio's NEXTEL BRUSCHETTA had two 1sts and Tim Healey's 11TH HOUR RACING/ SAILORS FOR THE SEA had two 2nds!  It was a decent day of sailing marked by several large shifts, one even forcing an abandonment and restart of the second race of the day.

The next day saw very little wind between 6 and 8 knots, causing both courses to be shortened, with Tim Healey winning the first race and Robert Vernon from Chile winning the other-- proof the South American teams are getting stronger every year!

The third day of racing started with 8 knots of breeze, it went up to 12 and in the second race it went back down to 4 knots, so the course had to be shortened again.  Some boats did not finish due to the wind conditions.  This time, there were two new race winners-  Kenneth Porter (MEX) on board COMEX and Mike Ingham (USA) on board BLUE DEMON.

On the fourth day, the fleet was blessed with fabulous, picture-perfect sailing conditions.  The fleet  started late due to wind changes, but ended up winds of 16 knots with gusts of 18 and 20 kts.  Winners on this day were Mauricio's NEXTEL BRUSCHETTA and Tim Healey's 11TH HOUR RACING, losing the first to an SCP (scoring penalty).

In the end, Mauricio's crew did not have to sail the last race on the fifth and final day, enabling Chris Snow and team on BOGUS to grab their first race win of the regatta.  Congratulations to Mauricio's NEXTEL BRUSCHETTA team on a job well done, same to Tim Healy, Chris Snow, Mike Ingham and Ken Porter to round out the top five, respectively.   Sailing photo credits- Jen Edney   For more J/24 Copa Mexico Regatta sailing information

El Presidente de Mexico LOVES Sailing!

Yes, it's true.  President Felipe Calderon is a big supporter of sailing in Mexico.  Felipe sailed J/24s for years in Valle de Bravo just west of Mexico City-- an absolutely spectacular lake high up in the mountains.  Through El Presidente, Mexican sailing has blossomed and Felipe has supported the Mexican Navy sail-training programs- mostly on existing J/24s around Mexico, including Opti's and Laser's for local, public kids and adults.  They're all public access sailing programs!  More on other such public/ private sailing program partnerships in Mexico next week!

J-Trained Tacticians Leading Volvo Ocean Race

*  The "J-Trained" tacticians are continuing to put their mark on the Volvo Ocean Race.  As even Ken Read (6x J/24 World Champion) has to say, "we're racing tactically and strategically from sched-to-sched (e.g. 3 hour intervals)."  In other words, when all boats have to report to Volvo Race HQ their Lat/Lon for safety/tracking reasons, everyone knows where they are, how fast they're going and at what angle.  Talk about stress.  The navigators have to be the "coolest" guys on the planet to have to deal with the incessant pressure of going "higher/lower" and at what sail trim/selection on the "cross-over charts" to keep their machines going at 99% or better.  So far, some crew of the top three boats on the leg to Auckland, New Zealand count amongst their experiences getting "schooled" on J/22s, J/24s, J/80s in both America and Europe.  Go figure-- a 40,000nm J/24 one-design race-- in essence, wondering where the next wind shift, wind streak, current anomaly shows up before passing the next mark, one a 3 hour interval 24x7  each leg.  Hmmm-- a challenge to say the least.  Nor for the faint of heart.  Steely nerves, forethought and planning are evidently part of the equation that also includes "mother luck"!  To see how these teams are doing take a look at: http://www.volvooceanrace.com

Italians Sailing J24s in Copa Mexico

* Is the J/24 Italian Team Ready to Race J/24 Copa Mexico?  It looks like TEAM BERGAMO racing ITA 479 are getting ready to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and try their hand against some of the best in the J/24 class.  This year John Fields, President of the Yacht Club Città dei Mille, will represent Italy.  They will be up against 64 J/24s teams from over 20 countries! The Italian J/24 representatives are counting on the support of Bergamo Filtes International - Technical Yarns, OSMI Sro - Oil & Gas and some other partners-- more information at http://www.ycbg.it. Among the sponsors of the 2012 Copa Mexico include Banamex, Coca Cola, Tag Heuer, Comex, Dell, Microsoft Office, Cerveza XX, Nyssen and Grey Goose Vodka.

J Sailors Continue to Lead Volvo Ocean Race

* J sailors continue to be tough competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race.  Winning the proverbial "Hat Trick" so far is Iker Martinez sailing TELEFONICA-- his J/80 friends and family in Spain were certainly jumping for joy!  Helping him along as Navigator/Tactician is Andrew Cape, a J sailor himself having competed on many of them on the Solent in England.  Plus, Andrew was a Southampton YC "Island Double Race" winner on the J/44 J-HAWK sailing with Stu Johnstone back in 1991!  The Island Double is a famous short-handed race in England that starts/ finishes off the notorious Royal Yacht Squadron line off Cowes, Isle of Wight-- it's the 65 nm dash around the Isle of Wight, the infamous original America's Cup course.  Andrew and Stu won the Island Double sailing the "classic" clockwise course, leaving all the buoys and the island to the right all the way around.  Ken Read and the boys on PUMA Mar Mastro do seem to have a bit of a "black cat hex" on them-- they just can't seem to "buy a break or a wind shift" to "save their bacon" and keep them out of trouble.  This last leg was literally a "minefield" of ships, fishing boats, fishing nets and all sorts of shoals and other islands obstacles, forgetting the fact they also had to deal with capricious winds and weather.  Kenny and crew took a flyer off to the right on the last segment from the Straits of Malacca, up the Vietnam coast to Sanya, China-- unfortunately, the gambit didn't pay off.  We wish both Iker and Kenny "fair winds and fair sailing" on their next leg from Sanya to Auckland, New Zealand.

J/24 MAKE MY J Wins Geelong Regatta

(Geelong, Australia)- A small group of hardy J/24 sailors made the annual sailing and party pilgrimage to Geelong this year. The weather was sunny and hot and with a great range of breezes to suit and gave the fleet some great close racing.  Here's their collective report from Hugo Ottoway and Simon Grain:

"This year the passage race was on the Thursday, with 3 windward/ leewards on the Friday and a short round-the-sticks race on Saturday.  Sunday was light wind and blazing hot.  More than that it was time to go home after the race.  And, you guessed it, the wind was on the nose back to Sandy, so we skipped the last race in favour of the tow we organised from one of the Sandy patrol boats and we all bought blue tarps to keep the sun off (looking like a B&Q or Home Depot "special"!).

So perhaps the most unusual regatta paparazzi photo-op is 3 of the 4 boat "tent city" towing back to Sandy (seen above with "greenies" on the afterdecks and wishing "shrimp on the barbie" was a possibility!).

The series was won by Simon Grain's MAKE MY J with a 1-1-2-2-1 for 7 points.  Next was Ron Thomson's KICKING BOTOM accumulating a respectable 3-3-1-1-3 for 11 points.  The KICKING BOTTOM boys narrowly edged out Robyn Coombs' HYPERACTIVE with their 2-2-3-3-2 for 12 points.

One of the highlights of the regatta was the gracious presence of J/24 International Class Measurer and Ambassador-- Stuart Jardine and his lovely wife Mary Ann.  Stuart was on hand to help Australian J/24 Class Measurer Peter Stevens, Victorian measurer Mark Haughton, Assistant measurer Doug McGregor and several members of the J/24 fleet at Sandringham learn the nuances of measuring a J/24 for International One-Design standards.

Stuart (now only 78 years young) is based in the UK and is a member of the International J/24 technical committee. His experiences in Europe, as well and the America’s over the past 30 years has given him a wealth of knowledge regarding the boats and he spoke of his vision regarding future and the where the class is going in the next 10 years and beyond (BTW, he still kicks the crap out of a LOT of young bucks/ newbies in the class who have NO idea who "that old guy" is). Stuart was impressed by the J/24 Australian national data base which has been correlated by the states and processed by Pete Stevens. With changes in the boats and new technology the class will be able to keep abreast of the best ways to make the measurement process fair and quick.

A strong measurement process is one of the fundamental foundations that make the J/24 Class such a great boat to race.  It’s not easy being a measurer, as I know having been involved at the highest level since 1988 and we should support the system that maintains our status as a prestige Class. To win a J24 National Title is one of the highest achievements in sailing, both here and abroad.  Lets help in maintaining our investment and encourage and support our measurers who currently are working towards a updated list of measured boats!"

Thanks to Hugo and Simon for their commentary. For more information on Stuart, please see this article on the International J/24 Class site.    For more Geelong Regatta Sailing results

J-Sailors Ken Read & Iker Martinez Leading Volvo Race

* Fellow J-Sailors Ken Read on PUMA and Iker Martinez on TELEFONICA are now back to real "live" ocean-racing on their Volvo 70s in the Volvo Ocean Race.  They're now sailing the Maldives (Indian Ocean) to Sanya, China leg.  Ken had this to say about the experience for Leg 3- "And now we are off. Sailing the leg that really nobody looks forward to when they sign up for this race. Upwind for about a million miles!" So far, in the tight, tactical racing relished by Ken and his PUMA MAR MOSTRO gang, they're currently leading the fleet into the Singapore Straits before making a long left turn to head north up to Sanya (a gorgeous, almost Hawaiian-like island that is China's southernmost point of land).

Twilight J/24 Series Raging Success

(Sydney, Australia)- Whilst the Saturday keel boat fraternity wandered back to their pens and the bar after a long day around the sticks the entertainment out front of the club was just beginning.  The critics in the bar were "oooing and awing" as the fleet of eight J/24s performed perfectly choreographed starts and mark roundings for them.  Some with binos and most pausing their drinks as the J/24s sailed a four race set right in front of their eyes. With the start line not much more than 100m off the edge of the bar and a brisk southerly blowing in, the crowd sat on the edge of their chairs as the gladiators performed.

Saturday afternoon turned on some of the best weather we’ve seen this summer and the J’s turned on the action for the first ever J/24 Saturday twilight racing series.  Racing was delayed slightly while we waited for the boats racing in the Club Marine series to get back to the club, but once they were all up in the bar they were treated to some seriously close racing in top end genoa and jib conditions.

Race Officer Glenn Taylor set a short course of windward leeward races inside number 4 mark only metres from the shore!!  The brisk southerly ensured plenty of action with commentary from Luke Matthews giving a blow by blow description keeping all in the bar and deck area patrons enthralled.  The rolling four race format was fast and furious with any mistakes made costing race places in a blink.

With a fleet of eight boats, racing was always going to be tight and after the first two races, the lead was tied with Hugo Ottaway on BRUSCHETTA VI and Kirsty Harris on HYPERACTIVE both scoring a first and a second in both races. Hugo, finding his groove stepped clear in the third race, going a point clear of the girls on HYPERACTIVE. For the last race HYPERACTIVE needed to not only beat Hugo, but put a boat between them, so it was always going to be tough. Cat and mouse in the last start saw both boats start at the back of the pack after an OCS call. However, Hugo ended up getting the upper hand, leaving Kirsty in his wake.

Third in the first two races was the ever present Brendan Lee sailing BY THE LEE, who was always nipping on the leaders heels. This all being said, one of the most exciting moments went to the thrilling victory in the last race by Steve Aulich holding out a fast finishing Hugo to snatch his first race win in J’s.

The competitors loved it, needless to say the spectators LOVED it, too! The first of hopefully many such events highlighting the fun a “J” has to offer.

The fleet is now looking forward to the next installment on 4th February, so make sure you are there with your big eyes and a calming drink!  Thanks for the contribution from Simon Grain.  For more Australian J/24 Twilight Series sailing information

Lucky It Was a J/24 Sailboat!

* How A J/24 Rescued A Boat and Saved Lives At the Lipton Cup
(Port Philip, Australia)- The 2011 Lipton Cup was sailed in true Port Philip conditions, from a 10 knot North Easterly through to 30 knot South Westerly on Saturday. Mix this with blinding rain that persisted all day and you have conditions that test the best of us. Fortunately the weather improved on the Sunday, however, most of the fleet stayed on shore, as the previous day was enough.

Simon Grain and Lisa Simonov won the regatta with 4 straight wins, their J/24 MAKE MY J was quick, well sailed and when required picked shifts that pulled them up through the fleet to win yet another race.

However, something else took place that day that saved a sailor's life.  Here's Hugo Ottoway's account from aboard his J/24 BRUSCHETTA VI- "There was another event that took place that day that made me feel glad that (1) our crew competed (as we only decided to sail the previous day) and (2)  that I sailed such a great boat as a J/24!

In the third race the wind had turned to the South west and kicked in at recorded 30 knots. After a screaming downwind run with the spinnakers Simon and I rounded the bottom mark together, back on the wind, we sailed lower and both boats were about ten boat lengths apart on port tack with Simon slightly astern and to windward.

My crew alerted me that there was a boat from another division that was on starboard and hardly moving, we bore away and as we passed astern we could see that the boat was a mess with her headsail half-furled and two crew occupied with something going on in the open cockpit. The boat’s crew shouted “we have a man overboard”, which sent a shock right through the whole of our crew, we replied “where”, one pointed directly downwind. Through the blinding rain we could just see a tiny black shape about 200 meters away.

Jack on the bow tripped the jib, and kept his eyes firmly on the MOB, whilst Matt eased the vang and Michael readied the life ring, the MOB was waving his arm and as we approached we assured him and asked him to keep calm.

Our first pass was too quick and we felt that the wind was too strong to throw the life ring as it would never have made it. Our second pass, much slower allowed the MOB to swim to the windward side of the J where it took all three of my crew to get him on board.

The rescued person, Dominic, was ash white, shaking and exhausted, we put him down in the cabin where Jack kept a eye on him. It was only then that I looked around to see that through the rain the only other boat I could see was the stricken yacht, no one else was in sight.  The stricken yacht had managed to bare away and was able to run downwind some distance away, we both headed to the nearest harbour at RYCV.

Dominic advised us that there was a injured crew on the other yacht and that the events that caused his injury had caused his fall from the boat.  I estimate that Dominic would have been in the water for a minimum of ten to fifteen minutes, we were concerned that he might be effected by shock so I got Jack to keep eye on his condition all the whole way home.

J/24′s are great to sail in heavy windy conditions, their low free board made getting Dominic on board much easier, and the speed in which we could do a second pass, took some of the panic out of the situation. Had we been in a much bigger boat, this MOB rescue would have been much harder and taken a lot longer, of that I am sure.

When we entered to harbour, the stricken yacht managed to get assistance from a rescue boat who rushed the injured crew to a waiting ambulance.  After we had docked we were met by the crew of the other yacht who thanked us and advised us that they could never have been able to pick up Dominic.

On reflection, my crew and I agreed that we had all had a rewarding and special day, as no one else knew Dominic was out there until we reported what had happened when we came ashore. We later learnt that the race was shortened due to the wind strength and reduced vision of 100 meters.

A very, very special "Thanks" to Jack Crawford, Matt Weston and Michael Lewenhagen, my crew on BRUSCHETTA VI."

Note from Simon Grain- "Hugo’s actions quite probably saved Dominic’s life on Saturday. The visibility was terrible with heavy driving rain, rising seas and lots of spray making looking to windward almost impossible and painful. This might have meant that no other boat would have seen him in the water. This is a very sobering thought, as losing a crew member overboard can happen in the blink of an eye to any of us on the water in these conditions. Make sure you practice your man overboard retrieval in all kinds of weather. Hugo was awarded redress and scored an equal first place in this race and came second overall in the Lipton Cup."  For more J/24 Australian fleet sailing news.

J/24s Sailing Sydney Short Ocean Series

(Sydney, Australia)- Starting in late spring Down Under, the Sydney Short Ocean Series gets rolling, a popular series of weekend races that takes place both inside Sydney Harbour as well as rounding marks offshore past the infamous Sydney Heads.

The event incorporates an Ocean Passage Race on Saturday with a common Start/Finish in Sydney Harbour.  And, then on Sunday, there's a combination of Windward/Leeward Courses and Triangle courses in the harbour.  A number of J/24s have been participating in the lead-up to the series, with three of them taking top five positions in what was known as the Seven Islands Race- Division 2.

It was clear the racing was close for the J/24s.  Leading the J/24 fleet home was Marc Tromp's WATERBORNE AGAIN, beating the next J/24 home by 12 seconds, a very tight finish for the top two.  INNAMINKA sailed by John Crawford was second and managed to stave off the charge by Brett Hudson's WILD FIRE, beating them by 30 seconds.  A bit off the pace about four minutes back was John Terry's PINOT.    For more Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship sailing information

J Sailors- Winning & Surviving on World Stage

* Win Some, Lose Some.  Tough week for "los amigos y hermanos de J/24s".  For starters, kindred J/24 spirits in Argentina were winning the J/24 Worlds.  But, their mentors and heroes were suffering interminable bad breaks.  For one, Ken Read's Volvo 70 PUMA Mar Mastro suffered the worst fate anyone of us could imagine, watching their super high-tech Scott Ferguson/ Hall Spars custom special carbon uber-rig simply fall over the side in three pieces in just 20+ knot winds in a long period 10-12 foot swell about 3 pm UTC off Brazil, about 700 nm from nowhere on Monday, November 21st.  What gives?  Maybe a symptom of the massive forces/ acceleration experienced in the first 48 hours of the race?  Certainly the conditions back then were bad enough to knock two of their competitors out of contention already (Abu Dhabi and Team Sanya).  Nevertheless, they're still "Thankful" for surviving to date.  Also, still surviving (and leading) are Iker Martinez on TELEFONICA, the ETNZ CAMPER boys and the French Connection on-board Franck Camas's team on GROUPAMA.

* A world apart and surviving in a tactical way was Terry Hutchinson on ARTEMIS RACING.  Sailing strongly in the America's Cup World Series on the AC45 cats in the racing leading up to the final days, Terry's team were handily in the top four.  But a shift here, a hole there and in the blink of an eye (e.g. 30 seconds) their hopes were dashed from competing for the finals.  Next up?  First race in 2012 is in Italy followed by Newport in late June!  Should be quite a sight to see these 45 foot cats flying around Narragansett Bay at light speeds between Castle Hill Light and the Newport Bridge!  Maybe some wise guy named Larry will show up with an AC72 foot version and show it off, too!?  Now, that would be very, very cool.

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.

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.