EL FIDELDO Smokes J/24 South Australians

(North Haven, South Australia)- The CN Management South Australian State titles were held at the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of March off North Haven, just north of Adelaide sailing in the challenging waters of Gulf St Vincent. A predominantly light wind event saw the local fleet joined by a few guest skippers chartered boats and one visitor from Victoria. Andrew Townsend pulled a crew together and entered JJF, while Jamie Goode returned to the fleet in NO EYE DEER after downgrading to a Farr 30 at the start of the year and Bill Coutts (the previous owner of JJF) was the guest helm in STOCKCAR. Special thanks go to Ron Thomson and the crew of KICKING BOTTOM who made the trip from Sandringham for the weekend.

With concerns about whether there would be enough wind for any racing, the race officer got proceedings underway in a very light and shifty breeze and had to rotate the course through more than 90 degrees before the two laps were completed. A slightly stronger and much steadier breeze allowed for a fairer 2nd heat however the 3rd race of the day was abandoned as the wind disappeared completely with most of the fleet getting swept north on the tide. With 2 wins EL FIDELDO were looking like the boat to beat with KICKING BOTTOM pushing them hard with 2 second places.

Sunday saw one race completed in a light northerly before the wind started swinging to the west bringing the possibility of a sea breeze. Although the direction steadied, the breeze failed to build and the last two races were run in similarly light conditions. EL FIDELDO managed to maintain their unbeaten record with KICKING BOTTOM close behind and Dave Nicholson on SUCH IS LIFE finishing consistently at the front end of the fleet to secure third place overall.
Under PHS, it was Bill Coutts that took the honours by only half a point from Andrew Townsend with the other Townsend's in GOOD COMPANY taking third.

It was good to see almost all the boats at the CYCSA on the water for the weekend and great to have some competition from further a field. The next event in SA is the Great Southern Regatta, again held by the CYCSA, on the 6 and 7th of April. To secure our One Design start, it would be great to see as many boats on the water as possible. Details are available on the CYCSA website.  For more J/24 Australian sailing information

CARRER Takes J/24 Cordoba Championship

(Villa Carlos Pax, Cordoba, Argentina)- As they have for years, the "400 Club" as it's known amongst the J/24 sailors that go sailing in Argentina's Andes Mountain range hosted yet another fantastic regatta, weather be damned.  Located not far from its famous vineyards for making the delicious red Malbec's and for snow-skiing in yet another direction (like at the top of the lake!) the J/24 sailors made the most of what can be some of the world's most spectacular sailing conditions as well as it's craziest.  Think of sailing on any Swiss Lake, Lake Dillon in Colorado or Nevada's famous Lake Tahoe; micro-bursts are normal and boats sailing at one another with spinnakers on opposite legs are simply part of the game.

For this year's event, the Campeonato Centro de la Republica Cordoba, it was Pablo Despontin's team on CARRER that managed to win by the narrowest of margins.  With 21 boats on the water of Lago San Roque from Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza and Neuquen the fleet managed to sail three races over the course of three days, such is the case with mountain breezes!

On the first day of sailing, the fleet managed to get in two good races with a reasonable winds.  The second day of racing was difficult and the RC was only able to get in one good race due to highly variable climatic conditions that went from storm to calm and mountain "Borneos" of 180 degrees changes in wind direction, until it settled to about 8 to 10 knots.


Despite the weather conditions, there was incredible enthusiasm and very cool racing amongst the J/24 sailors despite the heat of the competition. Not to mention, of course, was the absolutely amazing party in the evening with beautiful people, fine wines & champagne and incredible fireworks magically reflecting off the lake like it was a mirror!

Sadly, there was no racing Monday since there was a complete lack of wind.  As a result, the regatta ended with three races counting with no throw-outs.  True to their tradition for this event, the regatta organizers, 400 YCC, J/24 Cordoba Fleet and others had a fabulous closing ceremony and awards.  To next time, as they say, but this time with more wind!  See J/24 Cordoba photos in Picasa photos.  More J/24 Cordoba pictures on Facebook.

J/24 ACE Wins Class In Sydney Harbor Regatta

(Sydney Harbour, Australia)- Hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club, the Sydney Harbour Regatta is one of the largest, competitive keelboat regattas in Australia.  Over the weekend of March 9-10, over 200 keelboats raced in 26 divisions on 10 course areas on Sydney Harbour and Offshore.

For the second year running, the event was blessed with beautiful conditions, both days boasting winds of 8-10 knots early on and reaching 16-17 knots by late afternoon. Taking advantage of the gorgeous weather was a highly competitive J/24 class.  A good fleet of seven boats participated for the two day event.

Starting off by winning the first race, Dave West's team on ACE threw down the gauntlet and never let up on the fleet.  After two days of racing, Team ACE walked off with four 1sts and two 2nds to dominate the J/24 fleet with a total of 8 pts.  Giving them a run for the money by winning at least two races was the Scott and Adam Jamieson family team aboard JSPOT, amassing a 3-3-1-3-2-1 scoreline.  The JSPOT boys were clearly learning how to sail smarter, faster, cooler, more awesomely every race, as evidenced by their 1st in the last race.  Brett Hudson's WILDFIRE was hoping they would be "on fire", but a last race OCS was not helpful to their overall performance-- perhaps a bit too eager to put the spot on JSPOT for the last race!

The Sydney Harbour Regatta was sponsored by leading water sports and technical apparel supplier, HELLY HANSEN and supported by Sydney Ports, Robert Oatley Vineyards and Sydney City Marine.  Pictured here is a highly modified J/24 dinghy prototype sans keel, made of wood with Gougeon epoxy, with the J/Sprit concept employed circa 1926. Yes, the J/24 was waaaay ahead of its time. :)   For more Sydney Harbour Regatta sailing information

Mollicone Dominates J/24 Midwinters

Newport Fleet #50 Steamrolls Competition
(Tampa, FL)- John Mollicone's HELLY HANSEN team has seized the lead after five races on the opening day and never looked back.  Taking four 1sts and three 2nds in ten races, John Mollicone from Newport, RI and his HELLY HANSEN team were crowned 2013 J/24 Midwinter Champions. With Tim Healy, Geoff Becker, Dan Rabin and Gordon Borges, the group was able to spectate the last of the 10-race series to allow the other 19 teams to duke out the remaining places.

Will Welles, also from Newport Fleet #50, skippered COUGAR to an impressive series and 26 points for second place, starting off fast to lead the series after four races but dropping back in the end, collecting a 2-1-5-4-6-1-2-3-8-2.  Peter Bream’s TEAM TARHEEL accumulated 43 points for third overall but had to work very hard to three other teams that could have easily grabbed the last spot on the podium.  Dueling for the bronze and just 1 pt back with 44 pts was Mike Ingham's team on USA 5448 from Rochester, NY in 4th place; Tony Parker's "AI" team in 5th place just two points back with 47 pts; and in 6th was Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER tied with Tony Parker on points but losing the tie-breaker!  Close racing, indeed!

Conditions in sunny Tampa Bay remained gorgeous on Wednesday, with breeze between 14-16 knots and puffs to 18. Mollicone praised the “champagne sailing conditions” as the best he’s ever seen there. On the heels of winning last November’s J/24 North American Championship, Mollicone thanked his consistent team, saying “We’ve got a good team, but the biggest thing is we’ve got the same people all the time, and it makes a big difference in our crew mechanics and communication.” The group put in some practice time and training before the event which “helped a lot with getting comfortable again on the J/24 after taking some time off,” Mollicone explained. His dependable group will be heading to Howth, Ireland in August for the J/24 World Championship, but he’ll turn over the helm to Tim Healy. “We’ll just switch roles, and then next year I’ll drive in Newport (for the 2014 J/24 Worlds),” shared Mollicone. In Wednesday’s final two races, Mollicone and Tony Parker took the bullets.

The top ten J/24 teams overall were: 1st- John Mollicone (21 points), 2nd- Will Welles (26), 3rd- Peter Bream (43), 4th- Mike Ingham (44), 5th- Tony Parker (47), 6th- Travis Odenbach (47), 7th- Chris Jankowski (76), 8th- Robby Brown (77), 9th- Darby Smith (80) and 10th- John Poulson (84).   For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information and results
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J/24 Sailors Bring Volvo Race to Newport!

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

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

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

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

US Watercraft Rendezvous

(Warren, RI)- Over the past few decades, several thousand J's were built in the old Tillotson-Pearson facility in Warren, Rhode Island.  Recently, US Watercraft from Portsmouth, RI, builder of J/22s, J/24s, J/80s and J/105s, acquired the boat-building facility on Market Street and is now gearing up production for the four J/Boats they have under license.  In addition, they will also offer parts and maintenance capabilities for all those J's that had been built at that facility, ranging from the J/22s up to the J/160.

To meet the new team, US Watercraft is hosting an "open house/ rendezvous" at the Market St facility.  Come celebrate with us and visit their new location in Warren!  US Watercraft has a fantastic day planned with seminars, factory tours, and demonstrations.  Seminars include the following:

• Racing and Electronic Navigation
• Diesel Maintenance
• Boat Maintenance Basics

The event will be held March 9th from 10am to 4pm at 373 Market Street, Warren, RI.  If you're interested in attending, please RSVP ONLY by February 19th to Sarah (email- sarah@waterlinesystems.com) or phone 401-247-3000.  Please note, lunch and snacks will be provided!

One J/24 World Champion Joins Another!

(Newport, RI)- Here's one for the "why you sail a 'J' to learn how to sail better, faster, smarter and move ahead in the world department"-  J/24 World Champion Tim Healy has been asked by yet another J/24 World Champion, Ken Read (now President of North Sails) to re-join "Team Blue".  Prophetically enough, North Sails announced that Tim would join in the role of One Design Coordinator after Key West. Healy, who won the J/24 World Championship in 2010, worked for North Sails from 1998-2004 and has been in the sailmaking industry for 14 years.

"Tim has proven himself countless times in a wide array of one design sailboats from J/24s and Shields to Lightnings and Etchells – and now in the new and quickly growing J/70 class, where he won top honors in the 39-boat fleet last week in Key West,” said North Sails President Ken Read. "Having Tim back at North Sails gives us an opportunity to work closer with clients through his experience and knowledge of how to prepare and win on the race course,” Read continued.

Healy, who was a three-time All-American Sailor at St. Mary’s College in Maryland, has earned his place in the world of one-design sailboat racing. He has won 17 major titles in the J/24 class since 1999 and 7 National and North American championships in other classes. Healy also won a Gold Medal at the Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic in 2003.

"What I enjoy most about sailing and sailmaking is learning how to fine tune everything about the boat -- sails, rig tune, boat setup, tactics -- to make it go faster. Sailing our J/70 in Key West last week was a great example of how fulfilling it is to race in a brand-new boat and tweak our tactics and boat setup all week long until we found our groove. What we learned in Key West will be shared within the North Sails Group and will be applied to help our clients go faster on the race course,” he continued. “My love for the sport of sailing never seems to subside and rejoining North Sails allows me to utilize the best tools in the business to ultimately better serve my clients," Healy concluded.

"We are very excited to have Tim back onboard and look forward to his knowledge and input on where we can improve our sail designs and client outreach," said Vince Brun, head of the One Design division of North Sails. "Not only is he an accomplished and talented sailor but he is also committed to helping clients at regattas and he will work with our team internally to make sure we are doing the best job possible with regatta preparation and presence," continued Brun. "Our goal within the One Design division of North Sails is to have a stronger presence for our clients leading up to and during regattas and to provide better client services across the board," Brun said.  "Vinnie" should know, he sailed one of the first J/24 Midwinters himself starting in 1979 as a "newbie" just off the ship from Brazil. :)