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

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.

Wickwire Star of Canadian J/24 Match Race Championship

(Toronto, ONT, Canada)- No, it was not the "Hail-Fire Droid", nor the lightning quick "Speeder-bikes", nor "Luke" invoking special help from his buddies on "Tatooine".  It was just Peter Wickwire (J/24 owner of SUNNYVALE) and crew Tim Bishop and Matt Christie who won the CYA Match Racing Championship at Royal Canadian Yacht Club held on September 23-25th.

Learning fast and keeping their noses out of trouble, Peter and crew walked off with the Canadian Match Race Championship sailed in J/24s off RCYC in grand style.  Veteran, perhaps even legendary, Canadian sailors like John Hele, Terry McLaughlin, Andreas Josenhans and Hans Fogh should be so proud!  For more J/24 Canadian National Match Race Championship Sailing information

J Sailors Big In New York YC Invite Qualifiers

The New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup U.S. Qualifying Series, where 24 preeminent yacht clubs in America will compete, will be held in Newport, RI next week on September 7-11. The top three U.S. teams from next week's event will join the top six teams from the 2009 Invitational Cup.

Among the competitors, who must be amateurs (Corinthian) sailors and members of the yacht clubs they represent, is Bora Gulari, skipper of the entry from Bayview Yacht Club, founded in 1915 in Detroit. Gulari is the 2009 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year in America on the strength of his win in the Moth World Championship in 2009. “This is a great honor to be invited to compete. I’m very excited to race against other U.S. yacht clubs. This is like an amateur championship in the States. I hope to do well, but this is not my usual type of sailing," explained Gulari who sails a fast-singlehanded hydrofoil-equipped dinghy. "I look forward to representing my club Bayview and am going to give it an all-out effort."  Bora is good friends with Frank Kern's gang on his J/120 CARINTHIA...after all, good sailors who have fun are a small crowd in "Day-twah".

The skipper for the team from Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass. is Bill Lynn (pictured above), who is no stranger to the Sonars and J/22s. Billy is the 2007 Sonar World Champion and 2004 North American titleholder. Eastern Yacht Club was founded in 1870 and fielded three successful defenders to the America’s Cup: Puritan, Mayflower and Volunteer in 1885, 1886 and 1887, respectively.  Billy is a classmate of the Editor, an All-American, a great J sailor (J/22, J/24, J/105, etc) and will be a force to reckon with.

The St. Francis Yacht Club Team from San Francisco is skippered by Russ Silvestri, who sailed a Finn in the 2000 Olympics and competed in the 2009 NYYC Invitational Cup for this same yacht club team, which finished seventh. The St. Francis Yacht Club, founded in 1869, is the oldest yacht club on North America’s Pacific Coast and boasts a number of Olympic and America’s Cup sailors. Russ is a long-time J sailor and friend having raced amongst others the J/22, J/24, J/105-- and is using ex-J/24 North American Champion Ed Adams as his coach-- we're expecting big things from you guys!
Other notable J sailors and friends helping guide their steeds fast around the track include:  Peter Duncan from American YC; Peter McChesney and Scott Snyder from Annapolis YC; Teddie Moore and Larry Rosenfeld from Boston YC; Travis Weisleder and Rob Whittemore from Fishing Bay YC; Jamie Hilton, Chris Lash and Stu Streuli from Ida Lewis YC; Chris Raab from Newport Harbor YC; the Dellenbaugh's from Pequot YC; Bill Campbell from San Diego YC; Alan and Dave Constants from Seawanhaka YC; and John Jennings and Tito Vargas from St. Pete YC.   Should be quite a show and a LOT of FUN!  :)   For more information regarding J Sailors in the New York YC Invite.