J/24 Europeans & Monaco Match-Race Championship

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- More great news from Prince Albert's sailors at Yacht Club de Monaco! Twenty years after welcoming the J/24 European Championship to the Principality for the first time, the YCM will host the J/24 Europeans in Monaco once again, uniting the international elite of this series, considered to be of the world’s most important events for the J/24 Class.  The regatta will be held from October 5th to 12th at the spectacular, new clubhouse of the YCM situated on Monte Carlo's Port Hercule.

Also, from March 8th to 10th, the YCM is organizing a new Monaco Match Race Regatta.  The event is a collaboration with Bruce Hebbert and Ian Ilsley, who's very active and successful on the European Team Racing circuit-- getting on the podium on many occasions, including the Cowes Team Race (since 2006) and second during the Cumberland Cup in 2010 (Royal St George Yacht Club taking the victory).

The Cumberland Cup was organized by the Royal Thames Yacht Club of London, England and now the key challengers from that event are coming together again for the edition organized by Yacht Club de Monaco.  The YCM Match Race Regatta is open to "Twinned" and "Reciprocal Clubs" of the YCM.  The primary focus of the regatta is not individual performance and winning, but instead on overall team’s performance and learning. This highly tactical contest in J/24s will bring together ten Yacht Clubs comprising two teams each including at least three women (a requirement).    For more J/24 Europeans and Monaco Match Race sailing information

KAOTIC Winning J/24 Australian Nationals

(Sandringham, NSW, Australia)- The J/24s in Australia continue to grow their fleets, have fun (most importantly) and are getting a lot of people out on the water who've never before experienced sailing or racing a J/24.  Down Under there are a lot of J/24s to be had for a relatively small investment, so it's easy to get racing quickly and be competitive.  As a result, this year's J/24 Australia Nationals being held in "Sandy" have attracted an excellent fleet of around two dozen boats from up and down the southeastern seaboard of Australia- sailors of various ilk coming from as far north as Brisbane (north of Sydney), to way down west of Melbourne (Adelaide), to the far south off the island of Tasmania (the Tazzie's).

So far, it looks like the KAOTIC team skippered by Ben Lamb are liking the conditions in the bay and are leading the event.  Starting off slowly in the first race (a 15th), the KAOTIC gang have amassed several 1sts and 2nds to be on top.  Behind them in second place is Sean Kirkjian's team on SAILPAC, winners of various J/24 Oz events over the years.  And lying third is Stephen Girdis' CONVICTS REVENGE.  The top three "locals" from Sandringham YC are Adam Evans on SDM followed by Simon Grain on JET and Hugo Ottoway on the old BRUSCHETTA VI (a past World Champion's boat from Brazil- Mauricio Santa Cruz).  More news and photos after the regatta finishes this week.   Meanwhile, check out Sandringham YC's webcam-- they've had spectacular weather.  For more J/24 Australian Nationals sailing information

J/24s Sailing Primo Cup

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- With nearly 1,000 sailors coming from all over Europe, representing some 15 nationalities, the Primo Cup- Trophee Credit Suisse organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM), is one of the most important winter events in Europe, marking the start of the international sailing season.

The regatta is sailed over two weekends in the beginning of February Feb 1-3 and Feb 8-10, with a primary focus on one-design sailing and youth sailing.  For the first weekend, included amongst the classes is the J/24 European fleets.  Amongst the J/24s will be the Swedish entry from YCM and Marstrand SS- Marianne Schoke and Stu Jardine from the UK sailing SWE 330 JULIA!  Also sailing are Alessandro Pedone from YCM sailing ITA 455 BEL COLP JESTER; longtime local sailor Dennis Frederiksen sailing MON 5452 PAGET for YCM and fellow club member Anne Rodelato sailing the famous MON 24 JOKER.

The Primo Cup attracts a lot of good sailors from across Europe to sail in the prestigious venue of Monaco.  Not hard to imagine why, since Monte Carlo is one of the coolest places to sail on the Med, plus Monaco is tres'chic!  The YCM has the support of the famous royal family- the Grimaldi's- a sailing family for generations.  Monaco's Prince Rainier collected his bride Grace Kelly by yacht from the deck of the USS Constitution, the ship she had travelled aboard from America.  And, it was on the same yacht, "Deo Juvante II", that he and the new Princess Grace spent their honeymoon cruising the Mediterranean.  In other words, salt water and sailing were in their blood.

Prince Rainier founded YCM in 1953 with the aim of promoting yachting within the principality-- starting with the old Société des Régates. In 1984, his son Prince Albert became its President (seen here at far right) and today the harbour is a seasonal focus of the international super yacht fleet.  Although a social venue par excellence, racing will always occupy a major role in the club’s activities, the Primo Cup in February being the season’s opener.  Youth and one-design sailing are a vital element of the club social life.  Prince Rainier founded the YCM Sailing School in 1970 for young people- it now uses a fleet of Optimists, Lasers and Picos. The club also hosts fleets of one-designs, including the J/24's which saw Prince Albert sailing for nearly two dozen years! Perhaps the J/70s will be the next fleet for YCM's club activities!

One of the great attractions will be YCM's new clubhouse, designed along the lines of a super yacht!  With its magnificent setting overlooking Port Hercule and the Med, it promises to be a superb showcase for Monaco, reinforcing its position as the Mediterranean's "capital of yachting". Designed by the world famous architect Lord Norman Foster, the new YCM building will contribute to the vitality of life in Monaco and the prestige of the Principality. It's an ambitious and symbolic project, check out this YouTube video of the new Yacht Club de Monaco-- pretty amazing-- J/24s can easily sail in the pool!   For more YCM Regatta and sailing information    For more YCM Primo Cup sailing information

Cubria's Win J/24 Argentine Championship

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- The J/24 class in Argentina continue to sail a fun "summer series" while their J/24 counterparts are frozen way up North.  Their latest "Campeonato Argentina" had a small but highly competitive fleet sailing out of Yacht Club Argentina off downtown Buenos Aires (one of the coolest cities on the planet).

On the first day of racing on Saturday, the sailing was well organized by the YCA Race Committee P.R.O.- Gneri Antonio.  It was a full day with very gusty winds our of the west (blowing offshore) and plenty of sun.  At times the wind was a steady 6-8 kts, but would often gust to over 15 kts (top end of the genoa weather).  The fleet was able to complete three races with perfect starts.  But the gusty, shifty winds made it a tactically difficult, but very enjoyable day.  Sunday was another day with ideal weather. ENE wind at 10 knots, much more stable than Saturday's winds.

In the end, the Cubria's (Nicolas and Mario) with crew Fernando Bertrand, Gonzalo & Juan Fildoro sailed a very steady series, starting off fast and hanging tough for the balance of the two weekends of sailing, collecting a record of 1-1-5-3-2-5-1-2-8 for a net 20 pts.  Second went to Matias Pereira with a 2-4-7-1-1-3-4-1-10 record for a net 23 pts.  Thid was Alejandro and Augusto Rossi with a record of 7-2-3-2-4-4-10-5-3 for 30 net pts.  Rounding out the top five were Fernando Montes in 4th and Santiago Doval in 5th.

On land the organization was excellent, especially ending the day with pizza, beer and tasty PIMMS prepared by Ken Johnson. One of the regatta highlights were that attractive prizes were raffled, donated by Ken Johnson and North Sails and commemorative caps were distributed to all participants.

Remember, the "Andes Mountain Championship" will soon be hosted by the J/24 fleet of Cordoba (see at right).  They have prepared this event with great enthusiasm and the program they intend to run is impressive-- it should be a very memorable Championship.  The regatta will be  held from 9th to 11th February in the waters of Lago San Roque in Villa Carlos Paz.  It is open to any boat or crew associated with J/24 Class regardless of Fleet, region or country. Because of the high winds, the local Cordoban J/24 fleet sails the "Pan American profile" with sails limited to jib, main and spinnaker and limited crew weight of 320 kg.

PLEASE NOTE-- the first 7 boats registered (NOT from Cordoba) will be offered FREE accommodations for the crew throughout the event-- a bargain!!  And, if you FLY in from Europe or North America, we might even offer a FREE boat!  Call us.  Sailing photo credits- EL OJO NAUTICO.com   For more Argentinean J/24 class sailing information

Barkow Wins Carlos Aguilar Match Race

(St Thomas, USVI)- The St. Thomas Yacht Club and the VirginIslands Sailing Association again hosted yet another fabulous regatta on the Charlotte Amalie harbor waterfront using their unique J/24s (modified and call IC-24s).  With the courses set less than 50 yards from the shore, spectators had fantastic views of the action and the sailors. The event offers both an open division and a woman’s division that provides for great sailing and even better prospects for after race entertainment. The rum and tequila drinks are all “free” as are many meals. The “reggae” music starts right after the de–briefs as does the dancing.

Sailing fast, furious and smart was long-time J/22 and J/24 sailor Sally Barkow from Wisconsin, playing the "comeback kid" role and taking the regatta from her mentor/coach, David Perry 3-0 (yes, three-zip!) in the finals! Barkow, who has raced this regatta four times, took second last year after a narrow defeat by Finland’s Staphan Lindberg. That defeat made this year’s win for Barkow and her crew – Annie Lush, Alana O’Reilly, Erik Champaign and Maggie Shea – all the sweeter.

“We worked hard as a team in these last few days and it paid off,” says Barkow, who is ranked 6th in the Women’s and 31st in the Open match race ranking’s divisions as of December 5, 2012. Barkow was awarded a distinctive Ulysse Nardin precision timepiece for her win.

A rain squall blowing across the Charlotte Amalie harbor just minutes before the start of the Finals left light and shifty conditions in its wake. This didn’t deter Barkow who handily won the first two matches against Perry.  In what proved the final match of the Finals, Barkow lead at the start and stretched her advantage to 8 boat lengths by the windward mark. She lengthened her frontrunner position into a commanding 10 to 12 boat lengths by the finish even though her team battled through a kink in the spinnaker that cost them a few seconds in boat speed in the last downwind run.

“It was so shifty,” says Barkow. “It was easy to get it either so right or so wrong.”  This match-up of teams in the Finals was an interesting one as Perry, who is the author of Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012, has served as Barkow’s match racing coach.  And, Perry has also sailed J/22s and J/24s, amongst many other J's for well over 30 years himself.

“For me it was a win-win,” says Perry of his team’s second place finish and his student’s first. “Sally’s team is really good and they have evolved their game well. I was impatient. I had some advantages and gave them away. This either put me behind or put me further behind and Sally took advantage of that.”

Two past America’s Cup skippers and also long-time J/22 and J/24 sailors went head-to-head in the Petite Finals. Ultimately, the USVI’s Peter Holmberg won 2-1 over the USA’s Dave Dellenbaugh. Thus, Holmberg finished third and Dellenbaugh fourth in the final standings. Holmberg won this event in 2009.  Another Wisconsin girl and now coach at the Chicago Match Race Center was Sally's close friend Stephanie Roble, sailing a strong series herself to finish just out of the running in seventh overall.  Sailing photo credits- Dean Barnes    For more Carlos Aguilar sailing information and results.

GOOD VIBES Rocks J/24 Mexico Nationals

(Coporito, Mexico)- The Mexican J/24 Class continues to build on it strength and momentum with fleets continuing to improve and get strong in both Valle de Bravo as well as in Puerto Vallarta. Other fleets continue to develop nicely.  Coporito recently did a fabulous job of hosting the 2012 Mexican J/24 Nationals.

The weather was less than cooperative with only six races of at least eight that were scheduled for the event.  But, sailors are sailors-- the fleet still managed to have great fun!

Weather conditions were changing all the time.  The first day of competition started with 5-8 knots, then the wind died completely and then re-started again with little velocity.  As a result a second race was held but, unfortunately for most fleet, the wind died again before most boats could make to the finish line before the time limit.

The second day the wind began to blow a little early and the first race was held again with light winds of 5-7 knots. Then like what happened on Friday, the wind died for about an hour before returning with gusts of 8 at 11 knots with rain.

On Sunday the racing began an hour earlier and the first race was again run in light winds of 4-7 knots and the last race was run in rain!  In summary, it was fun sailing despite the challenging conditions.  A great turnout for the Mexican J/24 fleet and a special "Congratulations" to the "Good Vibes" team for showing great consistency in widely varying conditions-- winning 4 of 6 races!

Congratulations to Team GOOD VIBES- Jorge Murrieta, Julian Fernandez, Diego Fernandez, Jorge Ogarrio Ander Belausteguigoitia- for being crowned the 2012 Mexican J/24 Champions! Second place went to VENDETTA sailed by Mario Velasquez, with Margarita Pazos, Mario Velasquez Jr, and Walter Porter.  Third overall went to a family team on BESANGA sailed by Jerome, Diego, Paul, Philip and Gloria Cervantes. Fourth spot went to a familiar name often at the top of the leader-board- Ken Porter on COMEX.  And, finally in fifth was Javier Velasquez and crew.  For more Mexican J/24 Nationals sailing information

J/24 Sailing- Gybe Broach Curtsy?

(Casco Bay, Maine) - We received a rather amusing note from John Denman recently, he's a J/24 sailor on Casco Bay, Maine. John had this to say about a recent J/24 sailing experience in a Maine regatta this fall:

"In the 'Photos of the Week' section in Scuttlebutt last Friday, we'd like to say thanks for including the J/24 photo sequence from the Downeast Regatta on Casco Bay, ME. We were the beneficiary of that late gybe broach; I was driving #2109 and we were just yards from the finish line when "Mr. Hankey" was kind enough to take a detour and let us past. They are very generous up there in Maine--- with a great Clambake dinner, free beer and drinks, and letting the visitors pass right before the finish line!!

By the way, the gusts to 30+ knots on Hussey Sound in Falmouth, Maine led to this unplanned jibe (and swim)."  Thanks John!  Sailing Photos by Ann Blanchard.