J/24 Midwinters Announcement

(Coconut Grove, Fl)- Coral Reef Yacht Club and J/24 Fleet 10 would like to welcome the J/24 Class to the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, Florida for the 2014 J/24 Midwinter Championship Regatta- being held from February 19th- 23rd, 2014.  The committees are working on finalizing details for local housing with club and fleet members as well as finding the best hotel rates in the surrounding area and we will be posting that information soon.

Also be looking for some entertaining stories from past Midwinter Regattas at CRYC in the 80's and 90's like.... “Do you know where the Black Flag came from”? Look forward to future news to find the answer and expect to see the original version of the Black Flag on the 2014 starting line after the first general recall (that is, if you don’t behave)!  And, some of our most entertaining TV sailing personalities of today (think AC Cup recently) got their start sailing J/24's in the 80's on Biscayne Bay ... there are stories to be told! Oh, those were the days!

Coral Reef YC are looking forward to showing everybody a great time with some of the best winter sailing you will find anywhere. Head on down and join the fun! If there is anything you need to know, simply contact Mark Pincus, the Regatta Chairman and Fleet 10 Captain at email- mwpincus@aol.com or phone# 305-915-1438.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com   For more J/24 Midwinters sailing information

Windy J-FEST SW Regatta

(Galveston, TX)- Lakewood Yacht Club's annual J-Fest Southwest Regatta enjoyed some of the most amazing sailing conditions they’ve enjoyed in years.  Sailed over the November 2nd and 3rd, the sailors were treated to Northerly winds in the 20-25 kts range on Saturday, producing the usual “monster chop” renowned for Galveston Bay.  Then, on Sunday's “easy-going” breezes in the 16-20 kts range made for somewhat better conditions for the fleet of fifty J’s assembled for this year’s hugely popular J/Fest Southwest!

Starting out with the J/22s, their seven boat fleet produced a runaway winner in the “big breeze”.  No question, it was Casey Lambert and crew on BLACKBURN RACING that had the conditions wired, taking all firsts in six races to win by a “Texas-mile”.  Second on the distant horizon was Dov Kivlovitz with 13 pts and rounding out the podium was Chris Morlan’s TILT with 17 pts.

As the largest fleet in the regatta, thirteen J/24’s enjoyed a nice resurgence, showing up to lay it all on the line for Texas domination of the one-design world.  They enjoyed some close competition, but it was clear that Bryan Dyer’s RUMLINE had everyone’s number in the breezy conditions, finishing 1st with just 13 pts.  Second was TROPICAL AGGRESSION sailed by Stu Lindow with 17 pts.  Happily finishing in 3rd overall was HAPPY DANCE skippered by Bill Worsham with 19 pts; taking the tie breaker over GIGGLES sailed by Natalie Penner.

As the “new kid on the block” and one boat shy of the largest fleet, the J/70’s twelve boat fleet also proved to be one of the most competitive fleets at the regatta and, given the windy conditions, clearly the ones that had the most fun going into “planing mode” all over the Galveston Bay race course hootin’ and hollerin’ like cowboys at a stampede!  Appropriately enough, the winner by a comfortable margin was STAMPEDE, Bruno Pasquinelli’s team from Fort Worth Boat Club with a total of 10 pts.  While STAMPEDE has enormous experience sailing in a variety of highly competitive J/70 regional & national regattas, the balance of the top five was extremely tight!  Runners-up was GB sailed by Chris Lewis from Lakewood YC with 18 pts.  Following them in third was JBoats SW sailed by Scott Spurlin from Austin YC with 21 pts.  They just nipped fourth place finisher Sean Nunes from Austin YC with 22 pts.  A wind shift or two made the difference for 5th place finisher AKULA sailed by Rick Bell from Corpus Christi YC with 27 pts.

J/80s had a very competitive fleet of seven boats participating with several world and regional championship teams participating.  Topping the fleet, un-surprisingly, was GC/ QUANTUM RACING sailed by the team of Terry Flynn & David Whelan, representing Fort Worth Boat Club. Against such formidable talent, it was a duel for the balance of the podium with PARSONS PROJECT skippered by Luke McAllum from Houston YC taking second with 18 pts.  They narrowly beat out third place finisher  HENDRIX sailed by Kurt Vanderwall from Dillon YC with 19 pts.

The eight boat J/105 class enjoyed close racing all weekend long.  In fact, the last two races of the regatta completely turned the standings upside down.  Closing with a strong 1-2, it was INFINITY’s Uzi Ozeri from Lakewood YC that took class honors with 18 pts total.  Starting slowly with an 8th in the opening race, BLUE FLASH’s Matt Amo from Fort Worth Boat Club dialed in two bullets in the middle races, but was insufficient to overcome the strong closing of Ozeri’s crew, taking second overall with 20 pts.  Sailing perhaps the most consistent regattas was JB Bednar’s STINGER from Lakewood YC with a total of 22 pts.

Over in PHRF handicap world, the J/PHRF Sym fleet saw Chris Aik’s FOOTLOOSE from Galveston Bay Cruising Association take first overall with 5 pts.  Second was Glenn Stromme’s PRESS TO MECO from the Seabrook Marina Association with 12 pts.  Taking third was TOCCATA’s Gary Trinklein from Galveston Bay Cruising Association.

The J/PHRF Asym fleet had a diverse fleet of seven boats.  Taking first was the J/92 sailed by Kevin Hayes & Mike McGaugh from GBCA with 11 pts.  Albrecht Goethe’s Lakewood YC team onboard the J/109 HAMBURG took second with 16.5 pts.  Making its debut was the J/88 IT’s A THRILL sailed by J/Boats designer Rod Johnstone with 19 pts.  For more J/Boats Southwest sailing information

J/24 DJANGO Knighted With “Rinevella Plate”!

(Limerick, Ireland)- As one of their last events in the fall sailing season, the Irish J/24 fleet convened off Limerick, Ireland to compete for the Estuary's most historic prize— the “Rinevella Plate”.  Adrian O'Connell, Racing Captain at the host Royal Western Yacht Club, says “that piece and its relevance to sailors in Ireland is steeped in enormous amounts of history!”

First won in 1832 by the Knight of Glin, the coveted Rinevella Plate has become a much sought after prize amongst the sailing community on the West Coast of Ireland and its pride of place remains at the County Limerick Castle.  Hand crafted from Limerick silver, the plate depicts the many historic elements associated with maritime traditions on the Shannon Estuary and right up the west coast.

The Rinevella Plate, which resides on the dining room sideboard at Glin Castle, was first won by the then Knight of Glin at the Galway Regatta when the family commissioned the unique piece for a once-off regatta. Given to the then Galway Yacht club as prize for the winner, the winning boat owner staked their claim on the piece as the family sought to increase interest and participation on Irish waterways.

From the archive Mr O'Connell notes, "On the Shannon Estuary, with the Knight of Glin's encouragement, the numbers of commercial sailing trading vessels were growing apace, with the establishment of towns and sea-going trade along the Estuary. It soon became an established fact of life during the summer months, that interested groups decided to organize at each small port regattas for all the types of craft to be found on the Estuary.”

Limerick yachts and sailors he said, “accounted for almost a quarter of the club's membership and with prizes like the Rinevella Plate up for grabs, interest, like in the mid 1800s, is growing again today! In the modern era, interest in the waterways is experiencing somewhat of a resurgence as more take to the water. Clubs in the region are noting an increase in membership.”

Despite only having the plate in their possession for a few short hours, winners leave the West coast club in Kilrush with the honour of adding their names to a long list that is almost 180 years old.

Like many years before, the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland hosted the October series to determine the winner of the priceless Plate cast in Limerick silver.  More importantly, the competition lived up to its history and its roots!

The “DJANGO Hyundai Ireland” J/24 team sailed their mighty yacht for the Rinevella Plate and took the overall title this year after winning the IRC Class 1 over the series of six races!  Crewed by Martin MacNamara, Thomas Whelan, Andrew Carey, Charlie Glynn and Diarmuid Whelan, the 2013 winners said they were honoured to take the title amongst stiff competition.

Limerick boats from Foynes YC, together with Disaray sailing out of Tralee Bay Sailing Club, and Kilrush-based yachts made up the tough competition to decide the winners of this year’s historic plate regatta.  Needless to say, “good times” were had by all after raising a multitude of toasts to all over several dozen pints of the best ales from County Limerick!   

Parker Wins J/24 East Coast Championship!

(Annapolis, MD)- The 35th annual Hillman Focused Advantage Fund J24 East Coast Championship was held on November 1-3, 2013 in Annapolis MD and hosted by Fleet 8 Annapolis and Severn Sailing Association. The three day event saw an unpredictable forecast, breezes between 5 and 20 knots, 30 degree shifts and tricky conditions that left most of the 31 boat fleet scratching their heads.

But in the end it was Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET with a daily score of 2, 2, and 1 on the last day for a total of 17 points that won the regatta and anointed him as the 2013 Hillman Focused Advantage Fund J24 East Coast Champion. Tony has sailed all 35 J/24 East Coasts and it is his third win. Tony also won Top Amateur for the event, beating out many top names in the class.

Will Welles on COUGAR took second place with a total of 24 points. Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER finished in third with 39 points. Mike Ingham on USA 5443 finished in fourth with 43 points and Ron Medlin Jr. on BASH had a very nice event rounding out the top five with 47 points.

Day 1 began with 40 kts of breeze from the west and a driving rain which forced an hour and a half on-shore postponement. The weather pushed thru and the 31 boats headed out on water to what was to be a predicted 25 kts breeze. The fleet however was met with 10 kts of breeze from the south and a strong tide flood up the bay. Race 1 had sailors deciding whether to go right for tide relief or left for more pressure. With a split fleet, it was the left that won out. Downwind was tricky with a dying breeze but it was John Wilsey on Panceta Doble working the left on both beats that won the first race. Race 2 saw the wind die even more. 5 kts wind, with a 1 kt current made it for another tricky first beat where getting out to the right and out of adverse current seemed to be the key. However a big left shift change that strategy. By the end of the first run, the wind had died to just a few knots and once rounding the crowded gate, everyone could barely make progress against the tide. But sailing fast and consistent through all that was Al Constance in Blitz taking the win. Principal Race Officer Juliet Thompson wisely sent everyone back to the docks where sailors were met by the two-time National Oyster Shucking Champion George Hastings and his fresh Virginia blue point oysters, along with homemade Maryland crab soup made by Bill, and Pat Fitzgerald and the crew of Rush Hour and a wide variety of fresh beers on tap.

Day 2 saw another decent forecast of 15 kts from the north never materialize and leaving no wind and no races. The thermal which tried to make its way filled in too little too late. Fortunately there was a Dark and Stormy Rum party with home-brewed ginger beer and a buffet dinner of pork loin, Jamaican jerk chicken and Cuban black beans and rice catered by SSA’s own John Miller and Real Food, LLC. Dinner was accompanied by the previous day’s daily awards and the raffle featuring a J24 skirted deck cover sponsored by North Sails One Design.

Day 3 was met with a complete lack of trust in the forecast but the skepticism was soon dismissed with rustling leaves blowing thru Eastport and a cool brisk NW breeze. The 20 kts puffs, lulls, and shifts off the shore between the antennas and the bay bridge on the way out to the course did not disappoint. Race 1 was tricky for the RC to set a course and a line with wind shifts of 20 degrees or more. By the start all 31 boats with a blade, saw a considerably favored committee end but left would turn out to pay out big with a left shift and flatter water. Will Welles and Tony Parker were a good deal ahead of the fleet from wire to wire with Welles taking the gun. Race 2 was still shifty, but the wind had dropped. Some boats switched to the genoa but the genoa/jib trade off was about equal with the lulls and puffs on the course. The left shift from Race 1 was hardly existent and did not pay off on the left corner this time. Tony Parker again finishes 2nd behind Will Welles. Race 3 saw the wind drop to 15 kts and the fleet switched to the genoa. The wind had gone right a little more, and through that leg, shifted approximately 30 degrees right. There was no recovery from the left. Big shifts and holes made for huge gains and losses! The final race is taken by Tony Parker along with the crown. Teams were met on land with a BBQ of burgers and brats put on by Jay Mcginnis and his crew aboard SWAG with the Daily and Final awards ceremony for the top 5 boats. The mid fleet award sponsored by Atlantis Weathergear was awarded to Pat Fitzgerald and his crew on Rush Hour.  Sailing Photo Ccredits- Dan Phelps/ Spinsheet.com.  For more J/24 East Coast Championship sailing information

J/24 East Coasts Preview

(Annapolis, MD)- For their second consecutive weekend, the Eastport YC is hosting yet another East Coast Championships on the choppy, muddy waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  This time is the J/24’s turn to experience the superior race management and awesome hospitality of EYC. The thirty-one teams registered will have their hands full with not just with top teams sailing the regatta, but the rough winds forecast for the three-day long event.  With Friday offering near gale storm conditions with 15-25 kts southerly breezes, Saturday providing benign, sunny, lightish WNW winds and Sunday bringing strong 15-20 kt northerlies, the local tacticians will be matching wits with top national talent to bring “home the bacon” (e.g. podium silverware).

J/24 Fleet 8 in Annapolis is proud to have the Hillman Focused Advantage Fund (HCMAX) as the title sponsor for the 2013 J/24 East Coast Championship; this year’s partnership will expand on the success of the recently revamped J/24 East Coast Championship making it better than ever. Plus, they will be offering lots of great “swag”.

Who will be top dogs at the end of this shoot-out across the water?  That will be a tough call since so many championship level teams are sailing that have all grabbed their fair share of silverware over time.  Surely one of the top boats will be Mike Ingham’s Rochester, NY gang on USA 5443; but not far off their pace will be Tony Parker’s BANGOR PACKET from Annapolis; Al Constants’s BLITZ from Locust Valley, NY; John Poulson’s St Petersburg, FL team sailing MURDER INC.; Paul van Ravensway’s local Washington, DC team aboard MILLENNIUM FALCON; Pete Kassal’s local Annapolis crew sailing SPACEMAN SPIFF; Robbie Brown’s USA 799 team from St Petersburg, FL; Travis Odenbach’s gang from Rochester, NY sailing the famously infamous HONEY BADGER; and finally an even more incredibly famously infamous team from Newport, RI led by Will Welles and Tim Healy onboard COUGAR.  Finally, the long distance traveler award surely goes to Trevor Boyce from Hamilton, Bermuda, sailing NO SKIRT REQUIRED with a cast of characters that includes well-known photographer Tim Wilkes from Rochester, NY.  For more J/24 East Coast Championship sailing information

England's IL RICCIO Dominates J/24 Europeans

 Germany's Thoennessen Takes Women's Crown

(Monte Carlo, Monaco)- A record turnout with 67 boats, 11 nations and a top level playing field sums up the J/24 

European Championship (Open) hosted for the second time by the Yacht Club de Monaco 20 years after it organized the first edition, with the invaluable support of Stuart Jardine, a legend on the sailing scene in England and the J/24 class.

An International Race Committee presided by Englishman John Coveney fired the gun on eight hard-fought races over the four days, in east to south-westerly wind conditions ranging from 5 to 30 knots. It was a tactical as well as physically challenging championship for the 335 sailors, who had to cope with varied conditions, complicated by the Ligurian current, not counting practice races and a succession of starts.

Faced with a compact fleet it was difficult to avoid the 67 J/24s when rounding the mark or to fight for a place on the start to be sure of clean wind. With courses averaging five nautical miles and taking less than an hour, the competition was intense, with less than 10 minutes separating the first from the last in each race.  In the end, it was Englishman Ian Southworth, triple European Champion, who lifted his fourth title with Chris MacLaughlin (Il Riccio). Despite not winning a race, they were impressively consistent and always in the top six.

The racing itself was quite complex and challenging.  The sailors often found themselves at odds with the wind, current and fleet.  Tight fleets and some local knowledge helped.  In fact, by the end of the second day, the Monegasque team skippered by Ian Ilsley was leading the fleet  thanks to a sound second place in the fourth race.  “These are the conditions we really enjoy! It’s great to be competing in a championship regatta organized by one’s own club. It is so motivating especially because the level is higher than the world championship that was held in August in Dublin,” commented Ilsley.

Nevertheless, as everyone knows in this level of competition, "it ain't over 'till it's over".  Hot on their heels was the  English team of Ian Southworth & Chris MacLaughlin, hanging in for second place with 5 points and the Italian Pietro Diamanto skippering JAMAICA in third with 6 points.  Not far off the pace and expecting to get on the podium were past J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil sailing BRUSCHETTA and also  American Mike Ingham sailing JULIA.

The third day of racing dawned with a very strong south-westerly breeze with ginormous cresting waves (more like breaking swells).  Making the most of the conditions, the PRO managed to sail three very fast races for the large fleet.  BRUSCHETTA  made a comeback, moving from fourth to second place in the overall rankings and winning one race hands down by a country mile.  A steady performance was also turned in by the IL RICCIO team, taking a top ten for each race, and took the lead in the ranking from the day’s first race.  Monaco sailor Ian Ilsley managed to cling on to his place in the top three, despite a poor performance on the seventh leg of the last race.

However, there was disappointment for one of the favourites, Pietro Diamanti's JAMAICA, third yesterday and 15th after day three's sailing; proof of the quality of competitors and just how hard-fought the racing has been on the Monaco courses. The general view is that a hierarchy seems to be establishing itself with the gaps widening in the fleet as the breeze increases in strength.  And, so it went for the next two days with close racing and great camaraderies amongst the European J/24 teams.

In the overall event, second place went to another favorite, triple world champion Mauricio Santa Cruz on the famous BRUSCHETTA- he was second in the Dublin Worlds in August 2013. Surprised by the level and high quality of the playing field, he won one race in style, leading from start to finish and widening the gap to put him well ahead of his competitors in the fifth race.

But the title of vice-champion of Europe went to the Monegasque ST ANDREWS SECURITIES team helmed by Ian Ilsley with François Brenac on tactics.  They pulled off a coup by coming third, just three points shy of the Brazilian.  “This is the culmination of a year’s hard work. We made the trip to the World Championship in Ireland in August to prepare for this one and hone our boat. Our efforts have paid off and the contract largely fulfilled, beyond our expectations as we had set our sights on finishing in the top ten,”comments Ian Ilsley, for whom the next meeting is the Primo Cup (31 Jan/2 Feb & 7/9 Feb 2014) then the North American Championship in Mexico in March 2014.

Fourth for the regatta and third European was the Italian team on LA SUPERBA skippered by Ignazio Bonanno sailing for Centre Veico Marina Militare.  Fifth was early regatta leader EVNIKI, skippered by the popular Greek helmsman Dimitris Altsiadis.

Rounding out the top ten were 6th- Aurelio Bini from Italy (VIGNE SURRA), 7th- MacCathy Duncan from England (MADELEINE), 8th- Marco Stefanoni from Italy (KONG EASYNET GRIFONE), 9th- Claude Rodelato from Monaco (TOPO TOO) and 10th- Stephan Mais from Germany (RUNNING MEN).

The top three women's teams included Ragna Thoennessen from Germany sailing JUELSSAND in first place, she was part of the twenty team contingent from Germany-- the largest at the regatta from any single country. In second was her team-mate, Lea-Katharina Witt sailing ALICE for the Hamburg Segel-Club.  Then, third was Francesca Guzzo from the host club YC Monaco sailing COOL J!   Sailing photo credits- YC Monaco/ Franck Terlin   For more J/24 Europeans sailing information

J/Fest + Harvest Moon Rising!

(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

KIKA Sweeps J/24 GIZA CUP

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

PEUGEOT Wins J/24 Hungarian Open & Nationals

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(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

CARRERA + MENDIETA Tied @ J/24 Buenos Aires Race Week

(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

CLEAR AIR Dusts J/24 Canadians

(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 was 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

J/24 RAKE HELL Takes Changing of Colors Regatta!

(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

LEGAL ALIENS Dominate England!

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

2013 J/Fest Southwest Announcement

(Seabrook, Texas)- J/Fest Southwest gets better and better every year and provides a lot of bang for your entry dollar!  Once again the skippers packet is going to be chock full of coupons for Seabrook area businesses, and great products.  With great restaurants, and lots of activities for shore side guests there is something for everyone:  Kemah Boardwalk Amusement park, NASA-Discovery Center (worth an entire day), Shopping and Dining.  

Sailing from November 2nd to 3rd, the host Lakewood Yacht Club will have real-time race updates for those that want to hang out and see how their favorite sailors are fairing out on the water.  In addition there will be a spectator boat available to take those that want to get up close and personal with the racing action going on amongst 8 fleets!  

The newest J/Boat- the J/88 Hull #007 "It's a Thrill"- will be making her debut!  How will she do?  We'll find out soon!  Her skipper will be Rod Johnstone, J/Boats co-founder and Guest of Honor back for his fourth year!  And that means a 4th year of J/Boats trivia!  With all the fabulous prizes that come with the right answers!  Hint: "Mello Yellow" will NOT be an answer this year!  

After Saturday's racing the band will start and the music will be heard across the inner harbor as we put our boats away, swap stories, and share a beverage or two.  Back by popular demand comes the "Cajun Feast".  Enough food for three regatta's!  

Your skippers packet will include additional restaurant vouchers to be used at LYC for this incredible dining experience!  After dinner several TV's will be replaying the day's race tracks-this has been an awesome prop for the bench racing stories that tend to go long into the night! But really!  It's all about the racing!

All the usual One Designs will be there:  J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, J/105 and J/109!  With a record breaking early entry list topping 34 boats with two months to go this is shaping up to be a killer event!  The first year J/70 fleet will top 10 boats! Lots of fun and the J/70 Saturday post-race debrief by the leaders has been a real hit- everyone is welcome to attend!  

And for the real kicker- J/World Annapolis is bringing their talented instructors to Lakewood YC for a 2 day "J/Fest Southwest Racing Clinic" on October 31- November 1st to be run on J/70's and J/80's out of LYC!  It's the best deal in town, just $149/boat!

J/Fest Southwest always has great racing and great sponsors that provide us with a lot of valuable freebies!  Check out the regatta site at J/Fest Southwest and look at the list of sponsors to get an idea of the freebies, and listen to Seabrook Mayor Glenn Royals Welcome video!  Hook 'em up!  Head 'em out to J/Fest Southwest and Race, Dine, and Stay in Seabrook!  BTW ask for the J/Fest Southwest discount at any Seabrook hotel- check the website for a list of participating hotels!  For more J/Fest Southwest sailing information