Hurricane Sandy Update- Sailors in the Storm

(Sandy Hook, New York)- Our hearts, wishes and thoughts continue to go out to our friends in the J/Sailing community in Long Island Sound, Hudson River and, in particular, Barnegat Bay inside the demolished spit of land known as Long Beach Island off New Jersey.

The report from Manhattan YC's Mike Fortenbaugh was that "we were lucky, very lucky, and feel fortunate that all our planning to safeguard our fleet of J/24s and J/105s in the harbor went well."  Their J/24 "story" seemed to be prophetic as all video images on American TV broadcast across all news agencies showed J/24s on the Hudson bobbing easily across the monster chop.

From our friends in the Hudson River Community Sailing, they, too, reported an encouraging tale of survival of all their J/24s other than their clubhouse along the piers.  HRCS had this to say, "Thanks for the encouragement and support so many of you have shown HRCS since the storm. We feel fortunate. Our thoughts are with those whose homes and lives have been devastated.

Our Status:
- Our boats rode out the wind, rain, and surge successfully. Staff and members did a great job preparing.
- Our boat house did not fare as well.  High storage spared some computers and electronics. The remaining contents of our classroom, workshop, and office were destroyed as 6' of water filled the boathouse and floated and tumbled its contents. The boat house is closed, and we do not have a timeline for its use.
- This past Monday, a week after Sandy, we resumed our after school program using one of our partner high schools as our meeting site. We are making contingency plans should a prolonged absence from the boathouse be necessary.
- We will resume sailing operations (without boathouse) this upcoming weekend November 8th for our youth, members, and the public!

How You Can Help - Donate equipment or supplies:
- Educational materials: laptop computers, calculators, stopwatches, one-subject notebooks, pens/pencils, charts, nautical books (fiction/non-fiction)
- Office and classroom: folding chairs and tables, business telephone, small refrigerator, microwave, electric heaters, fans
- Tools: drills, sanders, grinders, saws, hammers, tape measures

Please contact HRSC at email- info@hudsonsailing.org for any contributions.

J/24 Worlds Update

 
Brazilians Dominating, Americans In Catch-up Mode
(Rochester, NY)-  Ninety-six teams from 12 countries have converged on Rochester, New York for the 2012 J/24 World Championship. Represented at the championship are Argentina, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Peru and the United States. Racing started on Monday, September 17 and continues through Friday, September 21. Even after 35+ years, the J/24 is STILL proving it's one of the world's MOST competitive classes to race in-- top teams read like a "who's who" of top one-design sailors from around the world.

After the first day of sailing, Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz sailed BRUSCHETTA to the top of the leader board.  With the entire fleet competing together, Bruschetta scored a 2-6 on a day when Lake Ontario started at 4-6 knots and got as high as 10 knots during Race 2 before subsiding. The conditions then turned too unstable for the Race Committee to complete a third race. To give you a reference point on how competitive the regatta is to date, past Moth World Champion and Key West Melges 24 Champion Bora Gulari is tactician on-board Kevin O'Brien's FUGUE STATE from Detroit and are lying 7th after the first day.  Past NA Champion 3 BIG DOGS sailed by Pat Toole from Santa Barbara is in 10th.  Past World Champion helm/tactician Tim Healy on John Mollicone's 11th HOUR RACING are in 10th and 2nd team in the 2011 Worlds in Buenos Aires, Argentina is Luis Olcese's team on SCARAMOUSH.

Mauricio on BRUSCHETTA held his spot on the top of the leader board on day 2, scoring a 9 and a 1 on Tuesday for a total of 18 points after two days racing. Luis Olcese on SCARAMOUSH from Peru stayed in second overall with 41 points, and Frithjof Schade on JJone from Germany had 43 points in third place.  In the day's first race, Mike Marshall on TBD claimed the top spot, followed by Tony Parker on Bangor Packet and Paul Scalisi on Rabit Cson Duck Cson. In Race 2 Mauricio Santa Cruz on Bruschetta of Brazil crossed the finish line first. Rossi Milev on Clear Air was second and Matias Seguel on Guru trailed him.  Conditions on Lake Ontario started at 4-6 knots and settled in at 10 to 12 for race two and as high as 18 to 20 knots for a short time in a squall at the end of Race 2.

After the third day, Mauricio's Brazilian team have taken dominant control of the 96-boat fleet. Team Bruschetta has held the lead on each day of the event so far, and has now opened up a 41-point advantage with just three races to go. A throw-out took effect on Wednesday, and Santa Cruz dropped a 13, leaving him with all top 10 finishes in the seven races thus far. Following him in the standings to date are American Mike Ingham who shot into second place, and a tie for third between Frithjof Schade's JJone (Germany) and Rossi Milev's Clear Air (Canada) with 67 points each.  In the day's first race, Ingham took top honors on 11th Hour Racing, with Nicolas Cubria's Elvis of Argentina second and Pat Toole's 3 Big Dogs of the USA in third. Race 2 saw another American in first- Will Welles's COUGAR. Matias Seguel's GURU of Chile and Ignazio Bonanno's LA SUPERBA of Italy trailed Welles. In the third race of the day, Mauricio Santa Cruz ended the day on a positive note taking another 1st, as did Americans' Ingham in second and Darby Smith in third.  Winds on Lake Ontario started at 12-14 knots, then built to 18 for most of Race 1, decreased slightly in Race 2, then dropped to 5-7 knots in the final race. Swells lingered from the previous night's storm throughout the day.

Also sailing amongst the crowd of J/24 sailors are a team from Newport's Fleet #50 that are comprised of a bunch of characters from SAILING WORLD Magazine.  Here's their latest report to date on what it's like to sail this year's J/24 Worlds from SW's Editor's perspective (Dave Reed) from the "front of the bus":

"OK, we got schooled, again!  Imagine trying to pick your lanes through this mess of a 96-boat fleet. Race 1 winner Saramouche had a terrible start, tacked at the race committee boat, dug hard into the bottom right corner, tacked once and led all the way around.

Sailing World editor Stuart Streuli and I are at the 2012 J/24 Worlds in Rochester this week, which started today (Monday) with two incredibly tough and shifty races. There were 96 boats on the racecourse, so it was nearly impossible to keep track of who was winning, who was losing, and who was gaining on one beat or the next, and what was really working at any given moment. Every time I looked across the racecourse, bows were pointed every which way.

Trust me, I was perfectly happy with my job on the bow. Stu, however, had the hot seat calling tactics, as he normally does on Ian Scott's Crack of Noon, and he had one hell of day trying to make sense of which shifts would come and when. I have habit of chirping in his ear (I'm a self-admitted backseat tactician, and not a good one at that), but I was perfectly happy keeping my "suggestions" to myself today and let him figure it out. He made some great calls, and it was interesting to see how they played out on the replay of the Kattack Race Player.

The conditions were a light southerly that came straight off Rochester shoreline. In the first race, a big right shift right off the start launched anyone on that side immediately, and in the second, it was the left that rewarded those who got off the line best, tacked (or started) on the big left shift, and got away. No surprise there, but what was surprising was watching the Kattack tracks and noticing in each race, the boat that won hit its side and tacked only once or twice. Our tracks had five or as many as eight tacks on the first beat, some of which were to clear lanes and to take advantage of shifts, but where it was hard work for us, the two race winners made it look easy. Fun, frustrating stuff, and we're at least in the top half (43rd), with a lot more racing to come."  Look for more updates from Dave, Stu and crew at SailingWorld.com  Sailing Photo credits- Tim Wilkes.   For more J/24 Worlds sailing information and results

MERLIN Wins Marblehead NOODs

(Marblehead, MA)- Overcoming a morning fog postponement, the sun prevailed over Massachusetts Bay to commence the second full-day of racing in Marblehead for the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta. A very light breeze showed up on the Bay to spark racing from nearly every boat class.  At long last favorable winds arrived for the final day of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta resulting in the most action-packed day of the entire 123rd Annual Marblehead Race Week. With each class completing multiple final day races, thank goodness!

In the eleven boat J/24 class, it was the Denman/Smith team on AIRODOODLE that tools the top spot with an impressive 3-2-1-1-dns record to win with 7 net pts (after toss).  Second was Matt Herbster's HIGH FIVE with a very consistent 2-3-2-3-3 record for 10 pts.  Third was Ted Johnson's VITAMIN J.

The nineteen boat J/105 class had some classically close one-design racing.  Leading the charge were some new names at the top of the leader board.  Who's Charlie, Matt and Rick?  Oh boy.  Perhaps some good teams that have some college sailors aboard and simple know how to get around the race-track.  In the end, it was Charlie Garrard on MERLIN that dominated the proceedings with a 1-2-5-2 to take the 105s with 10 pts.  Next was Matt Pike on GOT Q! with a 2-3-1-9 for 15 pts.  They just narrowly edged out Rick Dexter's team on CIRCE'S CUP with an equally impressive 11-1-3-1 for 16 pts.  Rounding out the top five were Peter & Doug Morgan on STEELAWAY III with a 4-8-7-3 for 22 pts and a trio of gangsters aboard BLOWN AWAY (Jon, Mike, Robert) with a 3-11-6-4 for 24 pts to round out the top five.  Sailing Photo Credits- Lauren McKenney    For more Marblehead NOOD Sailing World information

J24s Sailing Fun at Coronado YC

J/24 teams and the local sailing school are having fun at Coronado YC!  Said one committed J/24 team, "I give a bit of my involvement in community outreach program for a local yacht club. And just yesterday some of Juniors I teach sailing to went aboard one of your nice J24’s taking a class from a national champion in this class, you might remember Jon Rogers. He mentioned to us that he worked for you in Newport, RI at a J World school and asked me to say hi for him. Jon is a great guy and outstanding sailing instructor. He gave the juniors the ins and out of this magnificent racing vessel.

Our club organized a get together with the Coronado Yacht Club where Jon teaches and he kindly offered a day class to 3 of my top students. Luckily I went as well and confirmed what lots of people say about boats “They are fast”. We all enjoyed the class and hopefully in the near future we could have the opportunity to have one of this fast racing vessels in our fleet too."

J/24 TUNDRA ROSE Wins Seattle NOOD!

J/80 SKYE ROCKET & J/105  DELIRIUM Win Class(Seattle, WA)- When Seattle decides to put on a show weather-wise, she is a gorgeous place: Mountains abound, Puget Sound and Lake Union and Lake Washington provide ideal racecourses. Sure, it's dark and stormy here in the deepest months of winter, but in the summer, Seattle simply can't be beat. Case-in-point- this past weekend's Sperry Topsider NOOD regatta. While Sunday ended up being a rainy day of sailing (drum roll for the stereotypes), Friday and Saturday were the stuff of sailing legend-  perfect breeze, more sunshine than most Seattleites know how to handle, and enough psyched sailors to create a great event.

Showcasing three-consecutive days of top-tier sailing in various weather and water conditions, J/24 Skipper Mark Laura and his boat, TUNDRA ROSE, was declared top overall boat at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in Seattle. As a reward for mastering the Puget Sound race course, Laura and crew won an invitation to compete in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship Regatta in the British Virgin Islands at the end of the season to compete aboard Sunsail 44S against the other overall winners in the 2012 series.

What may have earned Mark's team the top-billing for the regatta was the fact that the top four teams all finished within three points of one another after seven closely fought races.  Mark's team started off with a bomber race- a 9th- but managed to rattle off a string of four 3rds and two 5ths to win by only 1 pt with no first places-- that's consistency!  Tied for second were PEARL and TREMENDOUS SLOUCH- accounting for three 1sts in the event.  Winning the tie-break with two of those 1sts was TUNDRA ROSE sailed by Mike Johnson's team on PEARL, their 3-1-3-7-11-6-1 for 32 pts was enough to secure second place.  Third was Scott Milne on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH, sailing to a 2-7-1-10-2-8-2 for 32 pts to snatch third overall.  Fourth was SELF ABUSE (Harry Dursch) and fifth was R.Y.L.A.H. (John Mason).

The J/80 class had a tight, four boat fleet with well-sailed boats.  Just about all the boats won a race, indicative of how close the racing was overall.  And, there were no runaway winners.  Fun racing.  In the end, it was Bill McKinnon's SKYE ROCKET that won with just 19 pts.  Second was HEART ATTACK sailed by Joel Shapiro with 21 pts and third was David Schutte on TAJ MAJAL with 23 pts.

The J/105s also had good teams returning from last year and it was clear that a trio of boats were having a heckuva regatta.  Like their J/80 counterparts, in this case five races were won by different boats over nine races-- a pretty equitable distribution.  Making fewer mistakes than most was Jerry Diercks' DELIRIUM, amassing a 1-4-6-1-2-2-3-3-3-3 for 25 pts.  The fun-loving "Italians" aboard Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE were leading after six races but maybe had too much fun on Saturday night?  In the end, their record of 4-5-2-2-1-1-1-7-4 for 27 pts fell just short of snagging gold, having to settle for silver on the podium.  Third was Doug Schenk's FREE BOWL OF SOUP with a 2-1-5-6-5-3-4-1-2 for 29 points, nearly overtaking their friends on the VIVACE.  Fourth was Jim Geros' LAST TANGO and fifth was Erik Kristen's JUBILEE.   Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson     Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.  For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Regatta sailing information

Annapolis NOOD Sailing Preview

NEW J/111 One-Design Class Debuts
(Annapolis, MD)- While the Sperry Topsider crew can't guarantee awesome sailing, they certainly can make sure the sailors are happy with their togs and clogs and make life ashore festive and fun.  With a forecast of light to moderate winds for Thursday/ Friday out of the south and a weak front switching the winds into the northerly quadrants at a robust 4-7 knots for Saturday/ Sunday, the PRO's will be on their toes to get some decent sailing in for the madding crowds.  How many teams will be in attendance?  With nearly 200 boats registered, there will be over 1,100+ J sailors crewing on 141 J's (that's 72% of the fleet!).

The J One-Design fleets are all well-represented and are broken down into five J/111s, a dozen J/109s, aye-teen J/105s, ocho J/35s, move J/30s, thirty-four J/80s, nineteen J/24s and thirty-six J/22s.  In fact, it's quite a significant turn-out of the 35 foot J-Designs- J/35s from the 80s, J/105s from the 90s and the new J/111s.

On that score, the J/111 fleet is shaping up to be a good test of how crews adopt to the flatter, choppier, shiftier waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  Three of the 111 teams all sailed in Charleston, having to cope with massive easterly swells from an offshore storm in NW to NE winds, making for a rolly-polly ride upwind and downwind.  Past champion VELOCITY sailed by Marty Roesch will surely be on the comeback trail and CRW Champion RAGIN led by Bob Moran and 3rd place finisher Henry Brauer on FLEETWING will be challenging for the top of the pack.  With those three as a benchmark, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other two boats, Jim Whited's BAD CAT and Anthony Culotta's CUORE DI LEONE fair against some of their well-practiced compatriots.

With three dozen teams showing up on the starting line, the J/22s continue to demonstrate that a bit of chutzpah, fun and camaraderie go a long way for long-term fleet success.  There are many familiar faces in this crowd as well as some new ones.  The event may yet turn into another donnybrook between the Rochester crowd versus the Annapolis gang.  Leading the Rochester crew will be Chris Doyle on THE JUG 41 and Vic Snyder on MO'MONEY.  The local Naptown crews are pretty formidable, amongst them will be Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY, Al Terhune on DAZZLER, Sandy Adzick on HOT TICKET and Todd Hiller on LEADING EDGE, just to name a few.

After nearly 35 years of racing, you'd think the J/24 teams would have an established pecking order amongst the top teams.  NOT!  As has been atypical of many top international one-design classes, the J/24 is so easy to pick up fast by good sailors that just about anyone can be competitive in a short period of time.  Same holds true now as it did back in 1977.  However, octogenarian Tony Parker on the storied BANGOR PACKET XXX is the local Maine/DC boy who's been keeping all the latest boys and girls in check.  After all, many a J/24 World Champion has crossed swords with Tony and lost-- he's still sharp as a tack after all those years of "ultimate fighting" in the J/24 class.  Making sure they learned a thing or two and hope to stay in front of Tony are recent J/24 World Champ Tim Healey on 11TH HOUR RACING from Newport, Robby Brown from St Pete on USA 799, Travis Odenbach on HONEY BADGER and Pete Kassal on SPACEMAN SPIFF.

An excellent turnout of thirty-four J/80s re-affirms their class strength after good fleets at Key West, Bacardi Sailing Week and Charleston Race Week-- all events on the J/80 Winter Circuit.  J/80 sailors are having a lot of fun racing their fast, closely-matched A-sail boats.  Teams that could be factors are changing as some teams improve their capabilities on boat-speed, boat-handling and tactics.  Showing great improvements recently has been Kristen Robinson and team aboard ANGRY CHAMELEON.  Others in the hunt will include Andy Burton on GROMIT from Newport, Chris Chadwick's CHURCH KEY, Bruno Pasquinelli's TIAMO, Mike Sudofsky's BOB DYLAN, Ramzi Bannura's STACKED DECK, Will Crump & Tom Klok's R80, Brian Keane's SAVASANA and Erik Storck's NA Champion RUMOR.

The J/30 sailors continue to enjoy the first cruiser-racer ever built by the J/Boats Team.  And, many "classics" of this genre abound.  These teams have a scream, no doubt about it. So, making any predictions about an outcome are certainly beyond the comprehension of even the J/30 sailors themselves.  Has something to do with rum, beer, sun, fun and varying degrees of that combination over three days of sailing.  So, working on past performance, we can at least look for Pam Morri's BUMP, Ron Anderson's INSATIABLE, George Watson's AVITA and Bob Rutsch & Mike Costello's BEPOP to be hunting around the front of the pack most times this weekend.

The eighteen boat J/105 fleet will be as competitive as ever.  Chesapeake locals such as Peter McChesney on the now famous MYSTERY MACHINE, Chris & Carolyn Groobey on JAVA, Andrew Kennedy on BAT IV, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, the Gitchell's on TENACIOUS and Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY will certainly be factors in the top five.  Toss in top three J/105 NA's sailor Jim Rathbun on HEY JUDE from Toronto, ONT, Canada and some US Naval Academy Sailing Team college sailors and you're certain to see a running gun battle taking place on the waters just off Easton's Point.

J/35 sailors continue to enjoy one of the most successful 35 footers ever built as racer-cruisers.  Love the boat names, some of the old classics and some new variations.  T-BONE, AUNT JEAN, DAKOTA GIRL, BAD COMPANY, MEDICINE MAN, REBEL YELL.  Hell, might as well be at a Harley Davidson reunion in the Badlands of North Dakota, don't ya think?  Free tattoos go with this gang (although the J/30 guys might argue this point).  And, they love it, working those grinders on the massive kevlar/carbon genoas and monster masthead spinnakers to go faster and faster.  Cool boat.  Cooler crews.  Predictions here?  None.  Teams change, teams get hungover. Bless'em all, they will certainly have fun and one may guess it would be a dead heat with their J/30 friends for the highest "fun quotient" amongst the J/Clan.

At a dozen strong, the J/109s have amongst their fleet three past J/109 North American Champions in the form of Bill Sweetser's RUSH (the Local) versus Rick Lyall's STORM (the Outsider- just a Long Island Sound guy), all contending with that silver fox from Buzzards Bay/Cape, Ted Herlihy on GUT FEELING (the Foreigner- so far East the Earth ends in a cliff).  In the end, way too hard to call this one with some many other strong teams tossed into the mix.  For more Sperry Topsider Sailing World NOOD Annapolis sailing information

St Petersburg NOOD Preview

(St Petersburg, FL)- This year's Sperry Topsider St Petersburg NOOD Regatta promises to have competitive fleets of J/24s and J/80s sailing on the waters of Tampa Bay.
Last February, Todd Fedyszyn turned a win in the J/24 class at the St Pete NOOD into a free charter in the British Virgin Islands.  On Feb. 17 to 19, on Tampa Bay, Fedyszyn will once again be aiming for that elusive overall championship. Standing in his way will be more than 100 other skippers, in 10 classes. But Fedyszyn won't have to look far to find some tough competition. The J/24 class, which will feature sixteen entries from as far away as Massachusetts and Illinois, is always one of the most hotly contested classes at each NOOD regatta stop. Local sailor David Mendelblatt is one to watch. As is Travis Odenbach from Webster, NY fresh off a highly competitive J/24 Midwinters the previous week also held on the capricious waters of Tampa Bay.

The J/80s have a good group of eight boats competing.  They will have to all contend with the "Middies" from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron all competing in J/80s- a trio of sailors including Dave Manheimer on BEAR INSTINCT, Stephen Vincent on WILLY T and Jeff Jordan on EMOTIONAL RESCUE.

The warm weather and great sailing conditions on Tampa Bay are a big draw for out-of-state sailors, who usually make up over 50% of the fleet. In 2012 the regatta will feature sailors coming from as far away as New England, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. The event also draws PHRF sailors, including Bill Terry's J/120 TAMPA GIRL sailing in PHRF 1.

Of note, the St Pete NOOD is welcoming aboard as Sapporo, the oldest beer brand in Japan, as the "official beer"-- since 1876 Sapporo has been a favorite among beer lovers for its crisp and clean taste and is the #1 selling Asian beer in the United States.   For more St Pete NOOD Regatta sailing information

A STAR Wins Marblehead NOOD!

VITAMIN J Prescribes J/24s, JEROBOAM Clubs J/30s

(Marblehead, MA)- This year's Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD Regatta
could either be seen as an atypical Marblehead regatta, or a typical
one.  However one saw the conditions for the three days, it was certain
that many teams had tales of euphoria and those of seeming despair,
too.  Winds on Friday were in the southerly quadrant with grayish skies
and 4-10 knots winds shifting 15-25 degrees; Saturday a spectacular
showcase of classic northwesterly, shifty 15-30 degree winds 10-20
knots; and Sunday a complete and utter discombobulation of breeze from
what should have been yet another "classic" southerly sea-breeze day
(shifts ONLY swinging a total of nearly 140 degrees- from East to
Southwest!).  There's no question the top teams were challenged by the
conditions, some rolling the dice more than others, some winning that
roll and others losing the odds badly.



For
the J/105 class, it was a tightly fought group amongst the top six for
the entire weekend.  The characters were not entirely unexpected, with
the leaders after two days of sailing being Stew Neff/ Henry Brauer on
SCIMITAR from Marblehead, MA tied with by Bernie Girod on ROCK &
ROLL from Santa Barbara, CA for first place; they were followed by Bill
Lynn on SHOOTING STAR from Marblehead, Brian Keane on SAVASANA from
Buzzards Bay, Ken Colburn on GHOST from Marblehead, Matt Piek on GOT Q?
from Hingham, MA and Sean Doyle on KESTREL from Larchmont, NY.  Going
into the last day, anyone could mathematically win.  And, faced with
what looked to be a "normal" sea-breeze day, it was likely the standings
wouldn't change too appreciably.  Instead, the fleet was faced with an
unusual day, the top five went topsy-turvy and even the local sailors
were somewhat perplexed by the crazy conditions with winds shifting in
total over 140 degrees!



Out of the fray, the winner that emerged was local Marblehead sailor
Bill Lynn and team on SHOOTING STAR winning the J/105 class by a
whisker-length with 23 pts. Having rounded the weather mark in the first
race of the last day in 12th place, down in fifth place in the
standings at the start of the day, SHOOTING STAR opted to gybe away onto
port away from the fleet on a "Hail Mary" play into shore, all by
themselves.  It paid off, winning the fifth race.  Yet another even
crazier sixth race saw SHOOTING STAR pull yet another rabbit out of the
hat!  The last race saw a 75 degree shift roll through the course and a
wildly erratic RC finish line (45 degrees off the posted course) that
threw the fleet into disarray, ultimately enabling SHOOTING STAR to
finish 7th in the last race, safely securing their tenuous lead to take
both the J/105 class but also the coveted Sailing World Overall Best
Performance Trophy-- earning Bill and crew a trip to the British Virgin
Islands later in the year for the SW NOOD Championship Regatta in 42
foot cruising tubs equipped with Jacuzzi's and twin-blenders.  Second
was Matt Pike on GOT Q with 24 pts only one point back, third was Bernie
Girod on ROCK & ROLL with 25 points only one point further back,
fourth was Henry Brauer/ Stew Neff on SCIMITAR yet another one point
back with 26 pts and fifth was Ken Colburn on GHOST with 28 pts!! Tight
racing- only six points separating the top seven boats! And a fun group
of sailors to race against! The J/105 Northamericans will certainly be a
challenge amongst this group when you throw in several J/105 champions
like Bill Zartler on SOLARIS from Houston YC, Joerg Esdorn on KINCSEM
from American YC, Damian Emery on ECLIPSE and Bruce Stone from St
Francis YC on JOUSTER.



For
the J/24s, it was the team of of VITAMIN J led by Ted Johnson that ran
away from their competitors finishing with a total of 18 pts.  Second
was John Denman's AIRODOODLE with 21 pts and third was Matt Herbster on
HIGH FIVE with 33 pts.  Fourth was Chris Clancy on LITTLE MARTHA and
fifth was Mike Taber on XINGU.



In the J/30s, it's obvious this group not only has fun, but they've
mastered the party, too!  Wow, smoking hot this crew is!  Mt Gay may
sponsor this fleet next year!  Leading the pack home with an awesome
display of talent was Key Deyett and crew on JEROBOAM, simply smoking
the fleet with five 1st, two 2nds and tossing 4th!  Ouch.  But, a
popular crew nevertheless amongst the J/30 sailors!  Giving them a run
for the money was Luke Buxton on EVELYN with four 2nds, two 3rds, first
and a toss 5th!  Third was Jon Lacks on VIVA from Hull YC.  For more Marblehead NOOD sailing information.   Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wilkes/ timwilkes.com

  

ARBITRAGE Crushes SF NOODs

(San Francisco, CA)-  This year's Sperry Topsider San Francisco NOOD Regatta was marked by "classic" San Francisco Bay conditions- "nuking" when the interior Valleys hit 90-100 degrees in the extreme hot weather the American west/southwest coasts have been experiencing.  Two solid days of breezes and sunny skies with one day hitting the upper end of the sea-breeze range, blowing 15-25 kts gusting to 30 knots.  The sailors who know the Bay love it and live for these conditions when they see it-- cool, foggy mornings punctuated by walking down to the local Peet's Coffee bar for fresh-roasted, fresh-brewed yummy coffee and breakfast treats.  Then, head down to the Marina District to savor the cool, light morning breeze and sunshine, waiting in anticipation of another day of racing on one of the  sailing world's more spectacular venues.

This year saw a nice turnout of J/24s with nine entered for the event and the J/105s had their usual strong turnout with fun, tight racing with seventeen entered to compete for that great "free" trip to race in Tortola BVI if you happened to have the best record and performance for all classes in the regatta!

Perhaps savoring it more than most this year was Bruce Stone (pictured at right with tactician Nicole Breault).  Having just competed in the Rolex Block Island Race Week and finishing 2nd in the J/105 class after five days of sailing, Bruce and crew flew direct from Boston to San Francisco to sail Saturday/ Sunday in the SF NOODs!  Mike Lovett from SAILING WORLD magazine caught up with Bruce after the first day-

"Bruce Stone really, really likes racing J/105s. On Saturday morning, he flew from Rhode Island, where he'd just spent the week competing at Block Island Race Week, to San Francisco, where he had just enough time to zip down to St. Francis YC and lead his Arbitrage team out to the racecourse for the first start of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta.

In Block Island, the team was racing a borrowed boat in light and variable conditions; returning to San Francisco, they were back in a familiar boat, racing in familiar, 18-25 knot conditions. "It was like putting on an old pair of shoes," says Nicole Breault, who calls tactics and trims mainsail. "And that's such a good feeling. You just know when it's happening. All the information is coming in, everyone is doing their job, and the boat-handling is like clockwork. If we had to make a last-minute douse at the leeward gate, the team just made it happen."

With flawless crew work, stellar starts, and a never-say-die attitude, the Arbitrage team put up a 2-1-2-1-2 scoreline to win the 17-boat J/105 class and earn the event's overall prize, which includes an invite to compete in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship regatta this November in the British Virgin Islands. "There were plenty of times this weekend when we found ourselves in a tight spot," says Stone. "At a couple of the starts, we were sandwiched between two good sailors and had to fight to maintain our lane. Other times, we'd get the slows in the heavy chop, and we'd have to make some adjustments to get back up to speed."

In addition to Stone and Breault, the Arbitrage team includes Terry Brennan (pit), Mike Straus (trimmer), Will Madison (bow), and Marc Acheson (mast). "What makes the teamwork good," says Breault, "is when you do make mistakes, you fix them right away."

Stone moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in the early 1980s and has been running a bi-coastal program for the past 11 years. "We keep Arbitrage here on the Bay, and then we borrow boats on the East Coast," he says. "We find owners who want to race but don't have a team, or don't have the experience, and then we bring the team, help re-rig the boat, and go racing. I pay the variable costs, and they provide the boat.

"We've raced seven different boats in 11 years," he continues. "A few years ago, on Power Play at the Sail Newport Regatta, we had three bullets in one day. The owner was just ecstatic. He said, 'I've never been on a boat that had one bullet, let alone three in one day.' We had him doing mast, and he just had a blast. It's worked out really well that way."

Bruce's ARBITRAGE team ended up winning with a 2-1-2-1-2 record for 8 pts.  San Francisco Bay veteran Rolf Kaiser on DONKEY JACK finished 2nd with a 6-7-3-2-1 tally for 19 pts.  Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK was third with a 1-5-4-4-6 for 20 pts.  4th and 5th were settled on a tie-breaker with Jason Woodley on RISK taking the 4th and Jeff Littfin on MOJO taking 5th.

Amongst the J/24s, it was another past winner taking the gold with Mike Whitfield on TMC RACING winning with four firsts!  Second was Don Taylor sailing ON BELAY, third Darren Cumming's DOWNTOWN UPROAR, fourth Luther Strayer and fifth Raymond Lynch's BAD FISH.  For more information on the Sperry Topsider San Francisco NOOD Regatta.   Sailing Photo Credits- Tim Wilkes Photography

  

J/Fun @ Seattle NOOD Regatta

(Seattle, WA)- The fourth of nine events in the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD series was sailed this past Friday-Saturday-Sunday in Seattle, Washington. More than 150 teams in 22 divisions raced on Puget Sound.  Leaders from past regattas faired well and not so well, such is the nature of racing sailboats in Seattle's capricious waters surrounded by the spectacular, majestic Cascade mountain ranges that form the western ridge of the America's Rocky Mountains.

Last year's overall champion sailing J/24s, Michael Johnson, returned with HOT PURSUIT but could only manage a third overall in the J/24 class.  Winning was SELF ABUSE skippered by Harry Dursch from Corinthian YC in Seattle and second was fellow CYC member Scott Milnes sailing TREMENDOUS SLOUCH. 

Within the J/80 fleet, it was Chris White's CRAZY IVAN that ran away with fleet honors after winning the first race.  Second was Bill McKinnon's SKYE ROCKET and third was Joel Shapiro's HEART ATTACK.

In a strong upswing from last year's event, Lorenzo Migliorini's J/105 ALLEGRO VIVACE from CYC was not only dueling for the top spots in the regatta for J/105 class supremacy, they sailed a very strong series to end up winning by three points after 9 races, with a 3-2-1-2-4-4-1-1-1.  Their string of firsts at the end sealing the fate of their contender, Jerr Diercks on DELIRIUM with 22 points.  Third was Erik Kristen on JUBILEE with a 4-1-4-3-3-1-5-4-3 tally.

The J/109s in Seattle continue to have fun racing with one another and the spirited competition is interesting to follow as each team goes up and down the standings. Not easy to place in this fleet as the boats are so evenly matched.  Nevertheless, Stu Burnell's team on TANTIVY won with a 14 point score.  They were followed by Jack Christiansen on JEOPARDY with 26 points, narrowly squeezing ahead of Dave MacLean's well-campaigned ILLUSIONIST.

"The NOOD team and co-hosts Seattle YC & Corinthian YC did a great job organizing and showing once again that this is one regatta not to be missed," said Jack Christiansen of North's Seattle loft.  For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Sailing information  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes Photography

  

Seattle NOOD Regatta Preview

(Seattle, WA)- The fourth of nine events in the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD series begins this Friday in Seattle. More than 150 teams in 22 divisions will be racing on Puget Sound.  Last year's overall champion, Michael Johnson, returns with his HOT PURSUIT  team to the 11-boat J/24 division.  Says Mike Lovett, "I had the chance to meet Johnson at last year's NOOD Championship in the British Virgin Islands, and when we parted ways in Tortola, he mentioned he was planning to sail the J/24 World Championship this November in Buenos Aires, Argentina. If that's still the plan, you can bet Johnson and company will be in fine form as they prepare to head south."

J/80s have a solid fleet of boats with contenders distributed amongst the near dozen boats sailing.  Hard to tell if the good money goes on CRAZY IVAN, HEART ATTACK, FEARFUL SYMMETRY, SKYE ROCKET or TAJ MAJAL.  With names like that, betting is good that someone from that lot will win!

Last year, the J/105s saw a closely fought series and a run for the gold between JADED and LAST TANGO.  However, without these two contenders sailing this year, it looks like Erik Kristen's JUBILEE from CYC, Robert Blaylock's USAWI from SBYC and Lorenzo Migliorini's ALLEGRO VIVACE from CYC will be dueling for the top three spots.

The J/109s are rockin' and rollin' again and it looks like David MacLean's ILLUSIONIST sailing from CYC and J-TRIPPER sailed by the Nordquists from Seattle YC may be amongst the contenders to take honors in this fun-loving one-design/ cruiser/ racer class.

The J/24s have more than a dozen entries and certain to be amongst the contenders will be last year's winner, HOT PURSUIT sailed by skipper Mike Johnson from Corinthian YC in Seattle.  Sure to be factors in the racing and vying for honors on the podium will be last year's third place team, SELF ABUSE skippered by Harry Dursch from Corinthian YC in Seattle as well as fellow CYC member Scott Milnes sailing TREMENDOUS SLOUCH.   Thanks for contribution from Mike Lovett- Sailing World- For more Sperry Topsider Seattle NOOD Sailing information

  

J/24 South American Champs XXVIII

Rigoni's LUCA Wins Tough Battle
(Puerto del Buceo, Montevideo, Uruguay- Apr 17-23)- The J/24 class had their South American Championship hosted by Yacht Club Uruguayo this past weekend.  With spirited competition from teams in the Buenos Aires and Uruguayan fleets, it was sure to be a tough competition.  After starting out strong Alejoni Rigoni on LUCA from Buenos Aires just managed to hold onto his lead going into the last three races, overcoming the late challenge from Diego Garcia skippering ALFA BETA from the local YC Uruguay club.

The YCU PRO managed to get off nine races over the three days.  The fleet was treated to nice conditions and some challenging races.  Rigoni's LUCA sailed a very consistent series, posting mostly top three finishes, but never winning a race!  Rignoi's 2-2-2-3-2-2-7-6-3 for a total of 16 points (two toss races included) was just one point clear of Garcia's 4-4-3-2-dsq-3-2-1-2 for 17 total points.  Lying third was Mateas Pereira sailing CARRERA from Buenos Aires, winning the most races (4) in the entire fleet. But Pereira's finishes were too inconsistent to overcome the regatta leaders, garnering a 1-5-1-1-1-5-6-5-5 for 19 points.    More J/24 South Americans sailing information  

Brazil Wins Trofeo Accademia Navale

(Livorno, Italy)-   Brazil beats Italy?  Sounds like a soccer (futbol) game.  No, just a story of a good Brazilian sailor stuck in Italy not wishing to leave such a warm, loving, hospitable and fun-loving people that love the "dolce vita", have delicious pastas and even yummier wines.

With an impressive series (five first places and two second places) the Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz and his equally renowned BRUSCHETTA crew dominated the Trofeo Accademia Navale held in the city of Livorno. The prestigious event held for more than a quarter of a century ensures not only top-level racing but charm and appeal-- thanks to the Navy and its splendid setting on the seashore next to the village of Tuttovela.

The J/24 world champion (champion in 2006, ’07 and ’09), Mauricio, and his team did not even need to take to the water in the eighth and final round: they had, in fact, won the coveted trophy (delivered by Admiral Division of Pierluigi Rosati, Commander of the Naval Academy) to close the regatta with 9 points.  Silver went to JAMAICA helmed by Carrara Peter Diamond (with a crew Gianluca Caridi, Giuseppe Garofalo, Fabrizio Ginesi, Paul Governato) 26 points.  Just one point away with the Bronze medal was LA SUPERBA NAVALE led by Ignazio Bonanno.

Eight races with challenging weather and sea conditions were completed under the careful direction of the Navy League of Livorno.  Forty-two teams participated- a record for the T.A.N. regatta.  There was a strong presence of foreign Navies- with Naval Academy teams represented from Chile, China, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Japan, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.  For more Trofeo Accademia Navale sailing information.   

J's Invade Annapolis NOOD

The Battle (and the Party) Rage On!
(Annapolis, MD)- After last weekend's Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, there will be plenty of scores to settle at the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD.  Next weekend's STS Annapolis NOOD will see 221 teams racing in 16 one-design divisions. An enormous turnout of 138 J's (62% of the entire fleet!) are sailing in seven fleets, including thirty-seven J/22s, thirteen J/24s, twenty-nine J/80s, fourteen J/30s, twenty-eight J/105s, seven J/35s and ten J/109s.

The 37-boat J/22 class will be the largest in Annapolis. Expect a good battle between Todd Hiller's LEADING EDGE and Travis Odenbach's INSTIGATOR teams; Hiller and Odenbach finished third and fourth, respectively, in Charleston.  However, some additional hot sailors locally and from the Newport contingent will certainly be factors on the leader-board, including Tim Healey's SAILORS FOR THE SEA from Newport, RI, a past J/24 and J/22 champion; Carol Cronin sailing HPS, a past Women's keelboat champion from Jamestown, RI; Allen "Albie" Terhune from Arnold, MD; Kevin Doyle and Victor Snyder on MO'MONEY from Youngstown, NY; and Jeff Todd on HOT TODDY from Annapolis, MD.  Shaking off some ice and rust from the Great White North will be the long-distance travelers from Toronto, ONT, Stu Lawrie on CATCH 22.

Of the 29 teams registered for the J/80 division, 12 competed at CRW, including top-five skippers Kerry Klingler from Larchmont, NY; Will Welles from Newport, RI on RASCAL; Bruno Pasquinelli from Dallas, Texas on TIAMO; Thomas Klok and Will Crump on GULDFAXE from Copenhagen, Denmark and Annapolis, MD; and John White from Annapolis, MD. However, upping the ante considerably will be the presence of past World and Key West Champion Glenn Darden from Ft Worth, TX sailing LE TIGRE, fresh off the Texas J/80 Circuit.

In the 13-boat J/24 division, expect Chris Jankowski's STREET LEGAL crew to be hot coming off a second-place finish last weekend.  But, giving them a serious run for the money will be Mark Hillman sailing WIP and class centenarian Tony Parker on BANGOR PACKET (showing the kids again how to get it done!), amongst others.

Within the J/105 fleet will be several strong teams that will all factor during the races and some of whom will be on the leader board at the conclusion of racing on Sunday.  Amongst those teams will be several top Annapolis J/105 sailors like Peter McChesney sailing THE MYSTERY MACHINE, Carl and Scott Gitchell steering TENACIOUS, Bob Reeves on A-TRAIN, Jack Biddle on RUM PUPPY, Chris and Carolyn Groobey on JAVA and Andy Kennedy on BAT IV.  Solid out-of-town teams that also had success in regional and National J/105 events include Jim Rathbun on HEY JUDE from Toronto, ONT and John Gottwald racing EAGLES WINGS from Chicago, IL.

The J/109 teams are all looking forward to another competitive, but fun, regatta.  Said Steve McManus on SAYKADOO, "Bill Sweetser is a great guy, and his boat RUSH is the top boat in our fleet. He is also very understated. At any rate, Bill is hosting a party at his home in Annapolis for the J/109 crews on the Saturday evening.  Last year, all the skippers and crew were there!!"  Say no more, these guys know how to have a good time!  Two good out-of-town teams joining the fun will be Craig Wright's AFTERTHOUGHT from Raleigh, NC and Adrian Begley's MAD DOGS from Atlantic Highlands, NJ.

The J/35s have several familiar faces showing up at the OK Corral to determine who's going to win the gun-fight.  Amongst them are names like AUNT JEAN sailed by Jim Sagerholm from the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, Peter Scheidt's MAGGIE and Chuck Kohlerman's MEDICINE MAN.

Big brother of J/24 lives!  As #2 in the J family of boats, the J/30s continue to enjoy a renaissance and this year is proving to be one of the strongest J/30 one-design class reunions post last year's well-attended J/30 Nationals in Marblehead, MA.  With fourteen J/30s on the line, there will be some strong competition.  As in last year's NOOD and Annapolis Race Week, amongst the leaders will be Bob Rutsch and Mike Costello on BEPOP; Larry Christy's BIG KAHUNA team; Ron Anderson sailing INSATIABLE, Bob Putnam skippering BETTER MOUSETRAP and George Watson racing AVITA.  Thanks for Mike Lovett/ Sailing World for contributing to this story.  Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes Photography- http://www.timwilkes.com  For more Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Annapolis sailing information.   

J/24 ACE Wins Duel For New AUDI Car

J/24s Have Fun @ Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta
(Sydney Harbour, Australia- Mar 8)- Here's a quick report from the boys Down Under- "Last weekend we saw some 300 boats in over 13 divisions compete in the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta – we managed to get a J/24 fleet together with 6 boats on the Saturday start line! A solid 18 knots – some decent gusts – some great wind shifts and a huge tide-- hmmm, not the easiest day!

Marc Tromp steering WATERBORNE again came out with a great lead in race 1, followed by a win for KAOTIC and a win for ACE.   Seeing KAOTIC's crew half under water at one point was pretty funny after a big gust and shift--- only to find ourselves on WILDFIRE also suddenly very wet too and fighting to stay on board.  Brett claimed he couldn’t get the main sheet off quick enough but I reckon it was something to do with me being his tactician for the first time.  Intuition processes and all that--- even funnier was then seeing David West do the same to his crew-- but didn’t settle for just once!!!  Twice in fact-– at least the water is still 23 degrees C!!

Day 2 saw lighter winds.  But still a bit flukey-- unfortunately, WATERBORNE again couldn’t race so we were down to a fleet of five.  FUN and WILDFIRE were trying hard to catch KAOTIC and ACE who won race 4 and 5, and MADDER'N'BADDER who picked the right side well to win the last race of the regatta!

Great sailing everyone.  Tight results – Janette Syme steering Arthur Crothers KAOTIC finished equal first with David West on ACE – on count-back David just clinched it. Lucky guy -now he gets to go car racing at Eastern Creek in the challenge for a new Audi – we’ll let you know if he wins!!!!  For more J/24 Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta sailing information.   

Manhattan YC- Launches Corporate Sailing League on J/24s

Manhattan YC is launching the Corporate Sailing League to sail on Thursday nights. Made famous many moons ago (remember MYC's been going for 25+ years), after the corporate raiders of Wall Street fought in boardrooms across the world, they'd relax in the afternoon and go sailing on J/24s right off the South Street Seaport Waterfront.

Today's version is undeniably more fun, much, much more affordable, easy-going and, in fact, more entertaining!  After all, now there are nearly FORTY (40) J/24s (versus just 12 in the old days) sailing out of North Cove Marina at the tip of Manhattan (just north of Battery Park) and with lots more potential for fun and games with fellow New Yorkers blasting around the NYC waterfront.

How can you not appreciate spectacular sunset sails in front of THE City, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty- the Goddess of Freedom herself!?  You owe it to yourself (and your business colleagues) to enjoy this rather extraordinary experience.

Call Mike or Emily at 212-786-3323 or email- mike@myc.org.  BTW, he's on Dennis Conner's speed-dial list, too.  Read more about this cool sailing experience- the Corporate Sailing League.   

J One-Design Expertise Helps Racing Big Boats!

* J One-Design Expertise Helps!  Past J/24 World Champion John Kostecki (right) led the Farr 40 Worlds fleet home sailing on TRANSFUSION.  Another former J/24 Champion Chris Larson (left) was doing the same further down the ladder.  Great story, consistency is King, as they say in tight, college-style fleets.

In race nine Transfusion's crew were coughing dust for the first upwind leg and appeared to lack boat speed while defending champion Nerone was sailing hotter angles out in front on the first downwind run. Transfusion's US tactician, John Kostecki, now a three-time winner in the Farr 40 Worlds, lived up to his reputation as one of the world's best as the local boat clawed its way back to finish second behind Nerone, and win the title!  While five different boats won races during the series, Transfusion won only once, but never dipped below a seven.  Consistency pays.

Start sailing any one of the large International J/One-Design classes- J/22 (http://www.j22.org), J/24 (http://www.j24class.org), J/80 (http://www.j80.org)- and you'll learn darn fast! Or, why do you think top women sailors have a hard time winning the Rolex Women's Worlds sailed in J/22s or many of the top USA skipper/ tacticians and European or Australian skipper/ tacticians often started in the middle of the pack of J/22, J/24, or J/80 fleets at some point in their life learning how to sail better, faster, smarter?  Takes practice to get good, lots of it.   

J/24s @ Bacardi Sailing Week

(Miami, FL) – Following a successful inaugural year, Bacardi Miami Sailing Week will return to Coconut Grove in Miami, FL, from March 6-12, 2011. For the J/24 fleet that participated, they were treated to some remarkable, beautiful conditions.  The hospitality was considered "unbelievable, gracious, extraordinary, groovy, awesome".  Wanna have some fun?  Go for it. J/24s.  Miami.  South Beach.  Coconut Grove.  Biscayne Bay.  Hard to miss.  Great follow-up to Key West and Miami offshore events.  Weather is awesome.

The event will be a six-day experience that will gather national and international sailing classes together in a fun-filled week of regattas, awards ceremonies, parties, and cultural exhibits. The racing begins on March 7, with events scheduled daily through March 12. The prestigious Coral Reef Yacht Club will coordinate on-water activities in collaboration with Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and Coconut Grove Sailing Club. The US Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami will also support the event. Racing will be held on three separate courses on Biscayne Bay.    More information on Miami Sailing Week.

  

Terry Hutchinson & Ed Baird- Quantum Evolution

* What do Ed Baird and Terry Hutchinson have in common with Mike Ingham, Ken Read, Chris Larson and several other noteworthy (perhaps famous) sailors?  A J/24 World Championship.  Not to beat their drum for any particular reason, but Quantum seems to be targeting a lot of good talent that are coming out of the world's largest offshore one-design keelboat classes- the J/22, J/24 and J/80s.  Recently, Terry is taking a deep breath and jumping in with both feet to be Captain Fantastic (e.g. helmsman) aboard the great yacht ARTEMIS in the America's Cup 34th rendition, sailing super-fast, incredibly dangerous 72 foot carbon fiber catamarans powered by enormous carbon wing-sails.  As a result, Terry is leaving his duties as helmsman aboard the TP-52 QUANTUM RACING.  Jumping into the driver's seat is yet another J/24 ace, Ed Baird, formerly skipper of ALINGHI in AC33 in Valencia, Spain!  Ed Reynolds, President of Quantum, says Baird’s expertise as both a sailor and coach make him a great fit for the team, which clinched the Audi MedCup TP-52 World Championship title earlier this month. "Ed is an 11-time world champion, has sailed with many of the guys on our team and is very much committed to our program, which is as much about product development as it is winning races. Ed’s accomplishments both on and off the water are impressive and his analytical approach to sailing is a real asset. We’re very excited to bring him on board and will value his expertise as we work to put a new boat, rig and sails on the water."   

Community Sailing- Sodus Bay using J/24s

Community Sailing- doing the right thing at Sailing Anarchy for youth sailing- SA Editor Scot Tempesta has been a strong supporter of sailing at the grass roots.  He recently featured Sodus Bay's junior program (another program that uses J/24s as their keelboat), "Here's a community sailing/ youth sailing group that all SA readers should be aware of. Sodus Bay Junior Sailing Association (SBJSA) has been teaching kids and adults sailing, swimming and environmental awareness on the south shore of Lake Ontario since 1956. SBJSA is a not-for-profit, educational, community based sailing school based on Great Sodus Bay in upstate New York. SBJSA teaches kids from ~ 8 to adult beginning and advanced sailing. All the students are also encouraged to move on to the learn to race (LTR) programs both on Great Sodus Bay and at interclub and regional regattas. All our students are also taught all 7 levels of American Red Cross certified swimming.

The SBJSA fleet is made up of Optis, Lasers, 420s, Lightnings and J/24s. The fleet currently has over 60 boats and 130 - 150 students actively sailing for the multiple session, season each summer. Above all our goal is to instill "Teamwork, Sportsmanship, Responsibility, Leadership and Environmental Awareness" in all our students. Our motto is , "Sailing is Fun! It builds self-reliance, physical strength, quick thinking and a love for the environment".

SBJSA offers scholarship assistance to students through the generosity of many local families and organizations. The school is run by a volunteer board and volunteer help from parents. This bunch of "misfit, do gooders" volunteers their time and energy just to see the smiles on kids faces the first time they figure out how to control wind, waves and fiberglass, and are truly in command of their own vessel.

The Sodus Bay Junior Sailing Association alumni have moved on in all aspects of sailing and water safety. There are SBJSA alumni who have sailed and raced in regional, collegiate and national campaigns. Others have raced internationally and even sailed on Americas Cup campaigns. Students have also gone on to careers in ocean research and naval architecture.

Three years ago SBJSA built a new 3500 sq. ft. teaching facility through the help of a multitude of contributors and volunteers. Many donated money. Some donated material and several donated their time as a labor of love of sailing. Sodus Bay Junior Sailing owes them and all the volunteers over the past 53 years a great debt of gratitude. We have high hopes that through all their efforts we will be teaching kids sailing and swimming well past our 100th anniversary in 2056."  For more community sailing stories, read about them or send them into Sailing Anarchy.