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A.k.a.- "La Regata de la
Independencia"
(Valle de Bravo, Mexico)- The J/24 class in Mexico continues to enjoy vibrant,
healthy racing in their three hotspots of activity, namely Valle de Bravo,
Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta. This year's Mexican J/24 Nationals
were hosted by the Club Nautico Valle de Bravo, thirty boats showed up to
compete for the honor of being crowned the 2013 Mexican National Champion.
Valle de Bravo is a spectacular lake located about an hour's drive
west of Mexico City, high up in the mountains. Surround by large peaks
and long valleys, the mountain winds can be very tricky, especially when it
blows hard. This year the fleet was treated to nearly every imaginable
weather conditions, light winds, rain, sunny days and enormous microbursts wreaking
havoc on the fleet. Saturday's sailing saw little wind, blowing just 4-8
kts with occasional gusts to 10 with rain clouds interspersed with the
breeze. Sunday's was more difficult for the RC, managing to get in only
one race after spending hours on the lake waiting for breeze. Finally, on
Monday the fleet had a great race going, but got blown out by massive gust of
breeze lasting well over ten minutes, forcing cancellation of the races.
In the end, the RC managed to only squeeze in three of the planned eight races.
While the racing is always fun and competitive, perhaps the biggest attraction
to the regatta is "Mexican Night" on Saturday even. Awesome
Mexican home-cooked food, massive fireworks display on the lake, aquatic games,
a mechanical bull to challenge your crew with, lots of dancing and a
spectacular "Grito de Independencia" keeps the crews extremely
entertained all night long-- for some a bit too entertained!
With all the festivities and sailing behind them, it was the GOOD VIBES team that
were crowned champions, led by skipper Xavier Murrieta and crewed by Julián
Fernández, Bernardo Minkow, Hugo McCarthy and Alejandro Murrieta.
Taking the silver on the podium was MAR II sailed by Miguel Arroyo and his crew
Alan Benitez, Tito Benitez, Manuel Benitez and Javier Benitez.
Third was a past Mexican champion Kenneth Porter sailing with a family crew of
Kenneth Porter Jr., Gerrit Gentry, Gerrit Gentry Jr. and Daniel Baños on the
mighty yacht "S"! Thanks for this contribution from
"Rosalia", Mexican J/24 Class secretary. For more J/24 Mexican Nationals sailing information
(Newport, RI- John Mollicone's team sailing HELLY HANSEN outlasted 45 other
teams to become the J/24 Sea Bags North American Champion. With Tim Healy
(tactics), Collin Leon (mast), Geoff Becker (trim) and Gordon Borges (bow),
team HELLY HANSEN totaled 50 points in the 10-race series to narrowly edge out
a hard-charging Matias Seguel of Chile on SEMI-PRO by two points. Nicolas
Cubria of Argentina sailed ELVIS to third place with 62 points. The event
was hosted by Sail Newport and J/24 Fleet 50.
“We
did a really good job grinding back,” commented Mollicone about their last race
on the final day. “We found ourselves in a lot of tough spots but were able to
slowly chip away and pass boats.” He gave the credit to his team’s boat
handling, crew work and tactics, saying “Everyone stayed really calm and cool,
even if we were deep.” One such occasion was when they were OCS in a race, but
still made the top 10. He added, “Today, things weren’t looking good for a
while, but we just kept our composure. A lot of that is all of us sailing
together a lot.” Mollicone won the 2012 North American Championship last
November with the same crew.
It
didn't start out that easy for this fast crew, most of whom had just won the
J/24 World Championship two weeks earlier in Howth, Ireland. Leader after
day one was Peter Bream’s Team TARHEEL, taking a 3-1 to start the regatta with
just 4 pts. The Florida-based team topped competitors from Japan, Chile,
Argentina, Peru, Canada and the USA. At that point, HELLY HANSEN was two points
back with 6 pts, and Matias Seguel on SEMI-PRO was third with 8 points. The
fleet was treated to a spectacular opening day with sunshine, warm temperatures
and winds Southwest 12-15 with a 1.5 foot swell. Kris Werner of New York got
the event started with a win for his team on STICKS, with Mollicone and Bream
rounding out the top three in race one. Bream took the bullet in race two, with
Seguel in second and 2011 North American champion Travis Odenbach on HONEY
BADGER in third.
On day two, the fleet had another beautiful day with winds ranging from 6-8
knots early on, increasing to 12 kts by the last race. Mollicone and team
made their big move, utilizing his hometown "local knowledge"
advantage to leap into first place with just 12 net points after five races
(including one throw-out). At this point, HELLY HANSEN led Chile’s Matias
Seguel on SEMI-PRO by 6 points. Day 1 leader Peter Bream on Team TARHEEL
dropped to third with 21 points. Mollicone sailed to victory in the day’s first
race, trailed by Will Welles on COUGAR and Steven Kirkpatrick on BUCKSHOT.
Argentina’s Sergio Pendola triumphed in the next contest on CACIQUE, with
Michael Marshall’s PIPE DREAM in second and Seguel in third. The racing closed
out with another Argentinian in front as Nicolas Cubria’s ELVIS took the
bullet. Chile’s Robert Vernon racing GRINGA followed in second, and Pendola in
third.
On the third day of racing on
Saturday, the competitors were again greeted by superb conditions as
temperatures remained in the low 70s with winds 10-12 knots and gusts to 14.
Three races were held, bringing the total to eight overall. Mollicone’s
team continued their consistent performance to take an 11-point advantage into
the final day of competition. The reigning North American champion
tallied a line of 2,4,1,5,7,8,(9),5 for 32 overall points. Nicolas
Cubria’s ELVIS amassed 43 points for second place, and Matias Seguel's SEMI-PRO
was in third with 47 points. International teams dominated the day.
Argentina’s Sergio Pendola on CACIQUE snagged another victory in Saturday’s
opening contest. Sumio Shimoyama’s SOKOKUMARU of Japan placed second, and
Chile’s Raul del Castillo on LA BANCA third. Local Will Welles’ COUGAR captured
a win in the next battle, with two Argentina teams behind him— Cubria and
Guillermo de Martis’ TWIN. Shimoyama ended the day successfully, with Castillo
in second and Travis Odenbach's HONEY BADGER in third.
The final day dawned cool and overcast with light winds around 6-8 knots, which
dropped during the first race to about 4 knots by the time teams crossed the
finish line. Conditions turned around by the next start as the clouds
dissipated, the sun returned and the breeze increased to 8-10 kts. For the
first time during the event, the course was moved inside to Narragansett Bay on
Sunday. “It was really tricky with lots of outgoing current,” Mollicone
explained. “The breeze was unstable so it was really difficult sailing. In the
last beat of the last race, we went from mid-20s to what we thought for a while
was top three. That’s how shifty it was!” Local Will Welles on COUGAR won
his second race of the regatta in Sunday’s initial battle. Seguel’s SEMI-PRO
took second, and another local— Bob Kinsman on DOGFISH third. In the final race
of the championship, Taylor Neff’s BUBBLES, from Lake Minnetonka, MN, claimed
the top spot, followed by Canadian Michael Howarth’s MISTER H and Seguel.
Mollicone praised the conditions during the four-day event, especially the
three days on the outside course. “That’s what Newport is known for— waves,
solid breeze, southerly direction.” For more J/24 North Americans sailing information
(San Diego, CA)- The San Diego J/Fest boasts a long history of being one of the
most fun and well attended regattas in Southern California. And, it's
exclusively for J/Boat owners! The regatta is open to one-design classes as
well as a J/PHRF fleet!
Hosted by San Diego YC the J/Teams will enjoy three day of competitive, fun
buoy racing from September 27th to 29th. Friday is the fun, casual race
around set marks and government marks, followed by two days of course racing on
Saturday and Sunday. Inside the bay will be the smaller boats (like J/22,
J/70 and J/80) and offshore will be the larger boats (the J/105s, J/109s and
J/120s).
While the sailing is always nice in sunny San Diego, J/Fest is perhaps most
renown for its onshore festivities. Saturday evening is the traditional
J/Fest Party, basically a giant cook-out on the lawn with live music and lots
of awesome swag and giveaways from the sponsors. The fun factor is a key
element of the event, a reason why over fifty boats have attended every year.
The J/105s have yet another great turnout with most of the top local teams
sailing, including Chuck Driscoll's BLOW BOAT, Steve & Lucy Howell's
BLINK!, Rick Goebel's SANITY, Dennis & Sharon Case's WINGS, Rich Bergmann's
ZUNI BEAR, Jon Dekker's AIR BOSS and Gary Mozer's CURRENT OBSESSION 2 fro Los Angeles.
The J/120s have traditionally offered very tight competition with a
modest-sized fleet. Again, a number of local favorites are sailing and
should be factors at the front of the fleet. Familiar faces like John
Laun's CAPER, John Snook's JIM, Chuck Nichols' CC RIDER, Gary Winton's
SHENANIGANS and Mike Hatch's J/ALMIGHTY have all had their fair share of great
performances in J/Fest.
The J/109 class will see past local and regional champions sailing again,
including Gene Pitkin's GERONIMO, Rex Butler's JD, John Shulze's LINSTAR and
Daylen Tercen's GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!
The J/70s will debut as a class and their six boat fleet should present a lot
of fun racing on San Diego Bay. Having been traveling to the last three
major J/70 events on the West Coast, Dan Gribble's GO-RILLA, Eric Kownacki/ Tom
Jenkins' DFZ, Karl Pomeroy's ZERO TO 60 and Craig Tallman's JAYA may have a
leg-up on the fleet. Nevertheless, 70 sailors have proven they're climbing the
learning curve fast in this simple boat, so expect to see good competition from
Hugh Bennet on CHEETAH CUB and Sean O'Keefe on DECOLORES 3. For more
J/Fest sailing information, please be sure to contact Joanne O'Dea at joanne@jk3yachts.com.
Or, go to the San Diego YC website.
(Howth, Ireland)- "It's usually not like this here", was the familiar
refrain heard from the local J/24 sailors from Howth Yacht Club. After a
reasonably windy J/24 Irish Nationals, the forty teams attending the J/24
Worlds were looking forward to battles on the windy, storm-tossed Irish Sea--
at least that was the promise from the Mayor of Howth and the local Chamber of
Commerce! However, an unusual front passed over Ireland for the first few
days, producing somewhat capricious, light airs for the first few days of the
event, even forcing cancellation of sailing on the Tuesday due to lack of wind
(and later a notorious Irish pub crawl for those with too much time on their
hands)! With the exception of the one day, the championship
featured four good days of racing, with the wind strength progressively
increasing as the week went on-- in fact hitting 20-25 kts on the last day.
The racing was very closely fought, especially by the top three teams.
There were six different race winners and the four American entries all
finished in the top ten, which featured two British boats, two German boats and
the sole Italian and Brazilian entries.
In a tense and closely fought final
day any one of the top three teams could win the regatta, with all three of
them trading positions atop the leaderboard during the previous three
days. Going into the last day, Travis Odenbach's HONEY BADGER was
winning, followed by Mauricio Santa Cruz's BRUSCHETTA in second and Tim Healy's
HELLY HANSEN in third. On the final two races in fairly big breeze,
Healy's HELLY HANSEN scored a 4-5 to become the impressive winners of the BMW
J/24 World Championship-- they had eight top-five results (including three race
wins) in the ten race series.
Healy, who previously won the title in 2010, was pushed all the way by the
defending champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil on BRUSCHETTA, who also
demonstrated remarkable consistency, but who had to be content with the
runner-up spot, four points adrift of his rival. BRUSCHETTA's final day
tally of 9-3 was not enough to pull off a record-tying fifth J/24 World title
to match the famous Ken Read from Newport, RI (now President of North Sails).
Third place overall went to another American crew led by Travis Odenbach from
Rochester on HONEY BADGER who had been the series leader overnight but who did
not enjoy the final day. A 20-8 score completely blew-up their chances of
winning the regatta, although he was only two points off Brazil's Santa Cruz in
the end.
In fresh westerly winds which touched
25 knots at times, the penultimate race saw a second win in the series for
Britain’s Ian Southworth on IL RICIO, ahead of fellow Briton Bob Turner’s
SERCO. Third place went to local Howth skipper Mossy Shanahan on CRAZY HORSE,
following up on his great form the previous day, a result which contributed to
him finishing as the top Irish boat overall in 19th place. Success in the
last race went to the German boat ROTOMAN skippered by Tobias Feuerherd, with
Keith Whittemore sailing FURIO from Seattle 2nd and Santa Cruz 3rd.
Rounding out the top ten was England's Ian Southworth in fourth followed by
Germany's ROTOMAN in fifth-- for both sailors their best J/24 World's regatta
performance to date. After leading the first day, Seattle's Keith
Whittemore sailed FURIO fast and furiously, but not enough to overcome a third
race "black flag" that knocked them out of contention, settling for
sixth overall. British skipper Bob Turner sailed Team SERCO fast and
smart at times, managing scores of 1-2-2-4, but five higher double-digit scores
moved them down the ladder into seventh overall. Posting five top ten
finishes was Italy's Ignacio Bonanno sailing LA SUPERBA (also J/24 Italian
Nationals champions) to place eight overall. Top Washington, DC political
strategist and, arguably, the "wiseman cometh" of the J/24
"tribe", Tony Parker, sailed his famous BANGOR PACKET team to a first
place in the first race to put their stamp on this year's Worlds-- cool,
eh?! Tony has only sailed a J/24 since 1977, since back in his Falmouth
Foreside/ Portland, Maine days-- almost four decades! Nevertheless, after
winning the World Championships for a few hours, Parker's crew may have been
blinded by ambition, scoring a few double-digit races but still celebrating
their time in the limelight with five top ten finishes-- good enough for ninth
overall. In tenth was the other top German team, SULLBERG skippered by
Stefan Karsunke from the Blankeneser Segel Club. Sailing photo credits- by David Branigan - Oceansport Gallery
For more J/24 World Championship sailing information
(Newport, RI)- Forty one J/24s are entered from six countries across North and
South America to compete in the upcoming J/24 North American Championships
hosted by SAIL NEWPORT in Newport, RI from September 19th to 22nd. Renown
for their pro-active race management, the J/24 sailors should be treated to
superior racing by SAIL NEWPORT's Race Committee team on either Narragansett
Bay or outside on Rhode Island Sound, depending on wind and weather
conditions. For America's Cup history buffs, the J/24 NA's are being
sailed at about the same time as past Newport-based America's Cup had been
sailed for several decades; with promise of cooler weather conditions and
generally reliable sea-breezes from the south/southwest.
The largest number of teams hail from the USA, however, eight
Canadian teams are sailing and a very competitive group of seven teams are
participating from the South American countries of Chile, Peru and
Argentina. What's readily apparent is that many of the J/24 sailors are
looking at this year's event as a "warm-up" for the 2014 J/24 Worlds
also being sailed in Newport and hosted by SAIL NEWPORT in late September 2014.
The top US teams include Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY; Peter Bream on Team
TARHEEL from Florida; John Mollicone on HELLY HANSEN from Newport, RI; Taylor
Neff on BUBBLES from Lake Minnetonka, MN; Pat Toole on THREE BIG DOGS from
Santa Barbara, CA; and Travis Odenbach sailing HONEY BADGER from Rochester, NY,
amongst many other good teams. Some of these teams have been sailing
quite a lot lately, including recent J/24 World's participants Ingham, Odenbach
and Mollicone (the cockpit/ tactician for Tim Healy's recent J/24 Worlds win in
Howth, Ireland).
Eight Canadian teams from the Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia provinces include
Greg Blunden on ADRENALIN RUSH; John Whynacht on STICKY FINGERS; Mike Howarth
on MISTER H and Rossi Milev on CLEAR AIR. Some of these teams are
well-practiced having just competed in the Chester Race Week regatta in Nova
Scotia.
The South American contingent all have tremendous experience at the top of the
J/24 class, including a few with world-class experience. The top
Argentinean crews are Mario Cubria on ELVIS, Sergio Pendola and Guillermo de
Martis on TWIN. The Chilean teams include Matias Seguel sailing GURU and
Robert Vernon on GRINGA. And, the Peruvean teams include Lucas Peschiera
on TIAMAT and Javier Arribas on WAYRA.
The lone ranger from Japan is Sumio Shimoyama sailing aboard SOKOKUMARU. Sumio
is no stranger to top flight J/24 competition, having been a top Japanese J/24
team for years and is always a factor in the J/24 Worlds in recent
years. Sailing
photo credits- Carter White For more J/24 North Americans sailing information
