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(Houston, TX)- A lot is happening in parts of grand'ole Southwestern America. They think big down there whether it's "honky-tonks" with mechanical bulls, epic parties, enormous blond hair, rattlesnake boots, dude ranches and, sometimes, even huge regattas! First up on the agenda is the Harvest Moon Regatta, or "HMR" as the locals call it. This year's 27th edition starts the 17th of October and can be a real "trick or treat" event. HMR was hatched over drinks in the Lakewood YC bar by a few sailors that wanted to use their boats more! The October weather window between the summer doldrums and the blue northers makes for spectacular sailing along the Texas Coast. Add in the beautiful "ginormous" Harvest Moon and a course from the Galveston Jetties to Port Aransas and you have the HMR. Just a 100 plus mile jaunt down the coast with over 200 sailboats!
With several classes there is a place to race or cruise for every type of boat. The Bacardi PHRF Racing fleet is about 50% J/Boats with the J/105, J/109, J/120, and a J/44 the primary entries. Every year epic stories hatch of blast reaching at over 15 knots for 8 hours, or drifting in the same spot for hours! The cruisers seem to enjoy regaling the racers with how they enjoyed watching the race boats zip by with the crew hanging over the lifelines chomping on a energy bar or MRE as they sipped a nice chardonnay and enjoyed exquisite hot cuisine under the bimini. At Port Aransas all of the sailors come together for a lively party, brag a lot, tell mind-blowing stories (real or not!) and a wonderful time is had by all. Almost all the boats start back on Sunday- either motor sailing down the cut or back out in the gulf. It's no wonder this event attracts 200 entries every year to become one of our nations largest offshore point-to-point races! Put this one on your bucket list! For more Harvest Moon Regatta sailing information
J/Fest Southwest is next up on the agenda. Shortly following the Harvest Moon Regatta, be sure to note the deadline Friday is fast approaching!! The skippers bag has well over $100.00 in product goodies such as Rejex Wax and boat wash, dinner coupons, t-shirt and J/Fest coffee mug! After Friday the entry goes up by an additional $50.00!
Don't miss the racing action, live music, free beer, Kattack race tracking and thousands of dollars in goodies to be raffled off from Velocitek, Marlow, Torqeedo, Harken, Blackburn Marine, North U. Along with these great product sponsors we also get financial support from the City of Seabrook, North, Quantum, Torqeedo, Hayes Rigging, Hays Insurance, Sundance Grill, Gulf Coast Marine, and Sundance Grill!
What does all of this mean? The J/Fest Southwest Regatta committee puts on great racing designed to maximize your time on the water and our sponsors put the shoreside activities over the top to produce one of the highest quality events in the nation with a lot of bang for your buck! There's a class for every J/Boat ever built and we want y'all to come on down to Galveston Bay and play! Come join the 50 fellow J/Owners already registered! So don't delay register today! For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information
Great Sailing in J/24 Pan-Hellenic
Cup Series
(Greece)- This past weekend, a fleet of seven J/24s sailed in the beautiful
azure waters on the Bay of Pantanassas, just off the famous island of Crete in
the Mediterranean. The Gazi Cup Regatta is the second event in the
Pan-Hellenic series that is organized by YC Gazi-Crete.
The fleet was treated to simply classic Med-sailing conditions with
north-northeast winds all weekend long with boat-loads of sunshine.
Saturday's sailing saw idyllic NE 8-12 kts wind with four races sailed from
1300 to 1700 hrs. Sunday was no different, in fact, nearly "postcard
perfect" sailing and a repeat of Saturday's wind but a bit more breeze.
After the eight races were completed over the two days, the final rankings for
the teams were as follows:
- 1st- KIKA skippered by Angel Psomopoulos and crew of John Pachaki, Christina
Garaki, John Voulgaris and John Dialektaki.
- 2nd- MINOAN SPIRIT sailed by Mars Pallikaris and crew of Nikos Kampitakis,
Nikos Petroulaki and Karyotakis Stavrakakis.
- 3rd- SIMERA sailed by George Lyroni and crew George Makridakis, Peace
Syngelakis, Stella Lenakaki and Katerina Maragaki. For more J/24 Class Greece sailing information
(Budapest, Hungary)- Lake Balaton was the scene of the recent Hungarian J/24
National Championships. A gorgeous setting on one of the prettiest lakes
in Central Europe, it often serves up capricious winds that can be very puffy
and shifty or simply benign with sun-burnt days and gentle breezes.
This year's championship saw eighteen boats participate and the
level of sailing amongst the top five was extremely close. While the
first day of racing was canceled due to a light offshore breeze, the second day
dawned with the long-awaited NW breeze of 14-16 knots. Four exciting
races were completed. Litkey Wolf sailed "lights out", taking
three 1sts and a 2nd on his boat PEUGEOT/ LITKEY SAILS. Second place for
the day was Michael Filo's ZULU with a 1-2-3. Attila Nagy's GARFIELD/
QUANTUM SAILS took third for the day. Also showing good form was Gabor
Makai's NORD TELEKOM and Erik Hercsel's SAIL FOR YOU.
The third day was going
to push the teams even harder to the edge. Some considered genoas, but
most opted for 100% jibs in the conditions. The wind was a bit stronger
than forecast, blowing 17-19 knots from the NW. The teams fought bravely in the
waves and strong breeze, enjoying some great racing and surfs on Lake Balaton!
The Wolf's PEUGEOT "express" continued their excellent performance
and after eight races had the championship won. The club's PRO tried to
get in one last race, but the weather simply would not cooperate as the breeze
had died towards the end of the day.
So, the championship was decided in eight races. A gold medal to Litkey Wolf
and his team, who defended their championship titles. The silver medal
goes to Michael Filo on ZULU and the bronze to Nagy's GARFIELD/ QUANTUM
SAILS. Rounding out the top five we find that fourth was Antal Szekely's COMPASS
and fifth was Nagy's NORD TELEKOM.
As a result of this regatta, the Hungarian J/24 Season Championship also goes
to Wolf's PEUGEOT/ LITKEY Sails team, followed by Makai's NORD TELEKOM in
second, Nagy's GARFIELD/ QUANTUM in third, Hercsel's SAIL FOR YOU in fourth and
Dr Thomas Wolf's J'KORSZAK in fifth.
Congratulations to all Hungarian J/24 sailors! Thank you for supporting the
sponsors who contributed to the high level of competition all season long-
Bernhofer Hotel, Compass Magazine, Manézs Bistro, Corner Merchandise, Site Talk
In EyeWind, pontráérek.hu, The Body Shop, Porthole, Quantum Sails &
BFYC. For more J/24 Hungary Sailing information
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- It would be fairly certain that no one could've
foreseen the outcome of this year's J/24 Buenos Aires Race Week hosted by the
famous YC Argentino. Sailing was ferociously close for the top three
contenders at this year's event. The fleet was blessed with gorgeous
sailing conditions on the Rio de la Plata, sailed just offshore in front of the
picturesque, bustling metropolis of Buenos Aires.
By winning the first three races in a row, everyone apparently
concluded that Matias Pereira and crew on CARRERA were simply a
"runaway" and could never be caught. So, the rest of the fleet
resigned themselves to racing for the remaining podium spots. However,
while no can explain exactly how it happened, but either Pereira and some of
his crew (like the tactician?) suffered temporary amnesia or perhaps they all
had a few too many cervezas the night before. Nevertheless, their last
two races were a complete meltdown, posting two 6ths to nearly lose the regatta
to Francisco Van Avermaete on MENDIETA. To their credit, MENDIETA sailed
a steady series with all finishes scored in the top three. Both boats
tied on points with 9 apiece, with CARRERA crowned as BARW champion due to
their three firsts.
Behind the top two boats was another close battle for five boats in all, in
fact it was an anxiety-ridden "nail biter" until the very last
race. After the dust settled on the battleground, it was Alejo Rigoni's
CHUCHA NO SOY McCENROE taking the third spot on the podium with 13 pts.
Fourth was Nicolas Cubria's RINA with 16 pts. Fifth was Sergio Pendola's
CACIQUE with 18 pts, beating Pedro Garra's EXTASIS on a tie-breaker. And
seventh in this group was Fernando Montes's COCOON with 19 pts! For more J/24 Buenos Aires Race Week sailing information
(Montreal, Quebec, Canada)- What matters most for this year's epic J/24
Canadian National Championships hosted by Port Credit YC!? After the
first day's racing, the party was going on at PCYC with Shane Murphy’s band and
a nice BBQ dinner! That's what was happening. Of course, it could
be said that all twenty-one boats were having a blast and some crews were
finding new ways to rig their spinnaker poles! You can say, you saw it all
here! No question, Canadian J/24 sailors know how to have fun-- maybe even
"professional grade" entertainment compared to their colonial
American "J/24 cousins" to the South!
The
opening day of racing presented the possibility that four races could be sailed
in the 10-15 kts NE breezes. The tactics were tricky and DRIVERS WANTED sailed
by Mississauga superstar Ted Bartlewski got the 1st day winner's trophy. Race 1
was won by local boat BAYGULL driven by Nicolas Mabboux. John Whynacht's
Nova Scotia clan on STICKY FINGERS got Race 2 and Bartlewski's DRIVERS WANTED
closed the day with 2 bullets. Tom Barbeu's NAVTECH.CA was the bridesmaid in
second place.
It wa
s
a crazy weekend for sailing conditions. While Friday's forecast was
calling for very light wind, the fleet ended up sailing four races in 10-15
knots. On Saturday, the fleet was expecting 7-10 knots fading out to 6 kts
during the day. The fun continued: this time it was again in the same
tricky north east wind! In the end, two races were sailed in lighter airs.
After a few attempts to get in a third race, the RC wisely decided to send the
fleet back to the harbour. It was now time for the "Go-Karting
Challenge"!! See http://www.st-zotiquekarting.com/web/html/Welcome.html.
Everyone met at the PCYC Clubhouse at 4pm and ALL disappeared to go racing
go-karts at 5pm! Insane evening of zipping around the track and more
parties later. Did anyone mention the fact that Canadian J/24 sailors
know how to have fun??
After two days of light conditions, the forecast was calling for 15-20 knots. This
time, the fleet was treated to steady 16 kts with some nice puffs. As usual,
the fleet split between the two schools of thought in marginal 16-18 kts TWS
conditions: genoa or jib, was the question!? Rapidly, most of the fleet
adopted the jib.
In
race 7, Rossi Milev's CLEAR AIR team dominated the game, followed by Thomas B
(NAVTECH) and Greg B. (ADRENALINE RUSH). About half way to the finish, boats in
4th and 5th (ANGRY SQUIRREL & BAYGULL) both went down in ghastly broaches
because of a nasty shifty gust. STICKY FINGERS passed in 5th position to limit
their losses.
In Race 8, the wind and waves kept building and Milev's CLEAR AIR again pulled
out a bullet, in front of Nic Mabboux (BAYGULL), followed by DRIVERS WANTED.
In Race 9, first overall was still "in play", so was the entire
podium for that matter! After one lap, BAYGULL was in the lead until the last
leg, where Rossi's CLEAR AIR passed to get the last point they were missing to
get the title. What a comeback! Impressive, almost
"Oracle-like" sailing-- yeah- the Canadian version of a "phoenix
from the ashes" returning to glory and silverware!
For those who were not there, you missed an epic event blessed by the Wind Gods
and Party Animals-- yeah, not one to miss! This was a warm, friendly and extremely
challenging regatta, in the spirit of the J/24 Class. See you next year in the
Atlantic! What an event! For more J/24 Canadian Nationals sailing information
(Lake George, NY)- The 35th Annual Changing of the Colors Regatta at the Lake
George Club in Lake George, NY saw 42 boats on the line and more sunshine than
wind. With two days of mostly waiting around for the wind to come the race
organizers managed to get a race off each day in spite of the challenging
conditions. As usual, the cream still rose to the top with past champions John
Enwright and Flip Wehrheim teaming up on RAKE HELL to win the event. They were
followed in 2nd place by perennial contender Aiden Glackin on MENTAL FLOSS and
in 3rd by 9-time past champion Kirk Reynolds on NO CRY BABIES.
After launching their boats and taking shakedown cruises the
sailors gathered in the grotto bar at the Club on Friday night for chili, wings
and beer provided by Adirondack Brewery. The steady 8 knot air that greeted
sailors all day Friday died off and would not show itself again until Sunday
afternoon. Breakfast stretched out to lunch on Saturday morning as the glassy
waters reflected the Adirondack mountain foliage. Finally, a slight breeze
filled in by 3 PM and the Race Committee quickly set up an I5 and got a start
off. As boats rounded the weather mark the wind lightened and the course was
shortened with Rake Hell, No Cry Babies, Dan Busch on Buschwacker and Mental
Floss taking top honors for the day.
Saturday night the fires were roaring in the old club house as guests fed on
Sirloin, Chicken Oscar and Sole Florentine from the award winning kitchen staff
of the Lake George Club. Waterline Systems, Annapolis Performance Sailing,
Harken, Sea Choice Products, North Sails and Lake Placid Distillery provided
enough drawing prizes for each boat attending dinner. Then the band turned up
the heat some more as people danced to great 80's cover music and partied into
the night.
Determined not to waste
a minute of wind the Race Committee headed out onto the water early on Sunday
with marks ready to be dropped. After 11 AM pockets of wind began to fill and
soon the breeze spread across the lake. With marks in place the Committee
started a W5 by 11:30. The breeze built slowly through the race as No Cry
Babies charged back from being called over early to a 6th place finish with
Rake Hell taking line honors again and Mental Floss finishing 2nd.
Awards followed for 1st through 10th: John Enwright, Aiden Glackin, Kirk
Reynolds, Martin Gallagher, Dan Busch, Andrew Brodie, Lenny Cushing, Chris
Follansbee, Mike Quaid and Ed Gardner. Best Local Boat: Andrew
Brodie. Best Visiting Fleet: 146 - Oswego, NY. Best Family Boat,
Mid-Fleet and Best Comeback Awards were generously provided by North Sails.
Winner John Enwright summed up the weekend with some kind words for the Race
Committee: "Despite the challenging, frustrating conditions, the PRO
somehow managed to get two races off and save the regatta. I personally
don't think that I could have done it if I was in his position, and it was the
right call. The results showed that the top boats were able to still get
consistently good scores in the most inconsistent of conditions which is the
true litmus test of a fair competition."
Register early and save a spot for next years Changing of the Colors Regatta,
September 27th and 28th, 2014. Contact andrew@yankeeboat.com for more
info. For more J/24 Changing of the Colors sailing regatta information
J/24s in Autumn Cup See
Out-Of-This-World Performance!
(Plymouth, England)- This year's J/24 Autumn Cup was hosted by Saltash Sailing
Club, with a programme consisting of races in Plymouth Sound on Saturday
followed by a Bottle Race up to Saltash Sailing Club and 2 races planned on
Sunday on the River Tamar. Whilst strong winds are not unseasonal the wind
direction was uncommon with strong Easterlies whipping across the Sound
followed by a ferocious squall topping out at 33 kts giving troublesome
conditions for the start line boat to anchor in. After 2 mainsails were ripped,
faces stung by sharp rain, crews completely drenched and a couple of J’s
having taken the decision to head for home, a judgement call was made to make
an earlier retreat up river and continue racing in the Lynher.
The committee boat set up a start-line in the more sheltered waters of Jenny
Cliff with 9 boats heading up the River Tamar, North of Drakes Island &
onwards towards the Tamar Bridge. Legal Alien was first to hoist their kite
followed by shortly after by the rest of the fleet. Gusty winds were soon
surpassed by some challenging, frequently unpredictable conditions which kept
all crews on their toes sailing along past the dockyards and up towards the
Tamar Bridge. Redrow Homes, helmed by Tom Cload crossed the line first to win
the Bottle Race.
Following a brief stop-off outside Saltash Sailing Club, a
Windward-Leeward course was set up in the Lynher with three races completed in
quick succession. Jeli, helmed by Stig McDonald took the first race in the
Lynher (race 2), with Nick McDonald helming Legal Alien winning race 3 and 4.
The shelter of the river made the afternoons racing viable however not without
some unruly gusts causing several boats to broach on the downwind league,
including a spectacular bit of depth sounding along the Cornish boundaries by
Team Redrow (thankfully softly into the estuaries muddy banks). Weary crews
headed in after an exhilarating days sailing to a welcoming sailing club and
warm dinner.
Sunday yielded another windy day with all to play for with the remaining 2
races. Legal Alien was in the lead with just 3 points clear of Jawbreaker and
Jeli with 7 points each. Legal Alien proved un-touchable in Race 5 despite some
hot competition from Redrow Homes and Illuminator, helmed by Mathew Conyers.
Going into the final race there was still plenty of room for final positions to
be changed. Race 6 was a tight race with the left side paying for the
first 2 beats, but Legal Alien (helmed by Darren Stansbury in the final race)
took a wild card heading to the far right on the final beat making up a fair
200m and rounding the windward mark looking like Cheshire cats and finishing
the day with a clean sweep.
Final results were; Legal Alien in First with 6 points, Jawbreaker in Second
with 15 points, and Jeli with 18 points. 4th- Redrow homes, 5th- Jam Too, 6th -
Illuminator, 7th –Skilled Services, 8th – Hijinks, 9th – Jo Jo (Winning
Westerly), 10th – Just the Tonic, 11th- Nitro, 12th-Italian Job.
Our thanks go to Saltash Sailing Club for hosting the event this year with a
change of scenery with regards to sailing location. Their warm welcome and
efficiency made for a hassle-free event. Thank you to David Oliver for the use
of his yacht as the Committee boat. Whilst a common occurrence at the majority
of UK J24 events the black flag was only threatened in the final race
with all other races starting first time. Malcolm Woods and his crew gave a
sterling effort with attempting mark laying in the Sound and were excellent in
their guidance in the Lynher with the myriad of buoys. Final thanks go to Neil
Duncley, the race officer for the weekend. For plenty of photos of weekend
action please take a look at the UK J/24 Class Association on Facebook.
For more J/24 Autumn Cup sailing information
